Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me
by vartangerine16
Summary: NEW CHAPTER FINALLY POSTED 06.16.07. A fired Ms. Darbus gets revenge by making the spring musicale... RENT! Troyella. Shaylor. Chyan. Jelsi. Not convinced yet? HSM Fanfiction Awards Take 2 Winner of Best In Progress, Best Slash, and Best Femslash.
1. Preface

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

ALSO: If you did not gather from the pairings listed in the summary that this fanfiction contains homosexual couples and you do not care to read about homosexual couples, click the little "Back" button and find another story to read. Don't complain to me that you don't think So-and-so and So-and-so should be together because they are of the same sex. Get over it. And for the record, I am very much a straight person writing this story. A straight person who happens to enjoy both High School Musical and RENT and whose mind couldn't stop wanting to put the two into one story with some conventional and not-so-conventional character pairings. My apologies if anyone has done this before, I don't have time to look through the 1,000+ HSM fictions. Anyways, reviews are hearted mucho... now on with the story!

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Preface

Ms. Darbus dropped the phone as a deep sorrow washed over her. She had always been so careful. Her brain could not even begin to comprehend what had just unfolded during that fateful conversation. They knew her secret. Not that it was something to be ashamed of, but she knew if anyone ever found out, her career was over. No parent of an East High School student would allow someone like her to continue teaching their children, spending countless hours before and after school with a select few of them. Due to her outstanding body of work she had accumulated during her reign at East High, the administration and school board were willing to let her finish out the year, allowing her one last musical production as a sendoff.

Slowly, the sorrow began to fade, and a new feeling took over: anger. She was angry that despite her credentials and her tenure at the school, the school board was able to find some cheap excuse for a reason to effectively end her teaching career. They thought they were being gracious, allowing her to finish the year out, allowing her to produce one last high school musical masterpiece. But really, their "grace" was a huge slap in her face. They might as well have said straight up "While your record here at East High School is impeccable and all your musical productions have been sold-out hits, we're firing you because we can't have a lesbian teaching here." Spineless bigots. For a moment, she was considering just resigning right then and there, in the middle of the year, just to beat them to the punch, claim she felt like she had completed her journey at East High. But then she thought better of it. She couldn't do that to the theatre, to Sharpay and Ryan and all the students that worked so hard and had come so far. And then she thought even better.

_They think they can get away with this filthy act of bigotry? I'll show them. My final musical production will have them wishing they hadn't felt so "gracious."_

It was that moment, with a wicked grin, that she decided the spring musical would be none other than RENT.

A/N: Just a warning, I'm not sure how soon this will be updated since I work all day during the day and I will soon be on vacation for a week. Any feedback would be appreciated, but I'm not gonna threaten with that asinine crap like "PLZ REVIEW! i need 15 reviewz b4 i update!" People that do that need to get over themselves and learn to type like normal humans. But obviously, I won't mind if you throw a review or two my way ;o)


	2. Chapter 1

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 1

When Sharpay Evans walks into a classroom, a sort of chill sets over her peers, and they can't help but to shift their gazes toward her. Usually within seconds, the ice is broken as their gazes pass over her shoulder to her twin brother, Ryan, anticipating a coordinated outfit which could normally be described as "flamboyant" for a male. But the Evans twins are of the theatre and preferred that everyone knew it and kept it that way, hence the often fabulous outfits the class marveled over each morning in homeroom.

"Dude he's wearing a pink hat... again!" whispered Chad Danforth to his best friend, Troy Bolton.

"That's because it matches Sharpay's fuzzy little handbag," Troy stated matter-of-factly.

The two boys snickered to themselves, as the twins took their seats one row over. Just then, Ryan's cell phone started to ring.

"Hey Pink Panther, you gonna answer that?" Chad called out.

"No, Mr. Danforth, he is not," interrupted Ms. Darbus. "Mr. Evans, please silence your phone."

In most classrooms at East High, such a statement would not be out of the ordinary. However, everyone knew that Ms. Darbus confiscated cell phones and slapped on a detention for extra measure the second she even saw a trace of an antenna. _Please silence your phone?_ Something was quite obviously up.

Ms. Darbus knew she had the full attention of the entire homeroom now. Teenagers are by no means stupid, and in fact can be very insightful when they want to be. This particular group of students had been her homeroom class for two-thirds of the school year now, and despite a slightly icy outward demeanor, she cared about each one of those students. She was praying inside that now these students would reveal that they, too, cared about her well-being.

"Class, there is something I need to talk to you about. I only hope that you understand. I received a phone call last night informing me that I am being "let go" from East High at the end of this school year."

The brief hushed silence that befell the classroom was broken when Sharpay managed a "But Ms. Darbus, don't you have tenure? They can't fire you."

Ms. Darbus sighed and continued. "Tenure does not guarantee that everything is set in stone, though it may seem that way. If the administration and school board finds "just cause," they can release a teacher," using the ever-popular air-quotes when she said "just cause."

It was Ryan's turn to pipe up. "What "just cause" could they possibly have for firing you?" he said, copying her air-quotes. "You have a flawless record and produce outstanding shows!"

Darbus drew in a deep breath. She was still unsure of how they would react, but she had to tell them before the rumor mill struck first. "My dears, I have a confession. I am a lesbian, and secretly have been since I first took this job." The quiet became deafening. She swallowed hard and continued on. "THAT is the "just cause" for letting me go."

This time it was Troy who jumped up. "Ms. Darbus you can't be serious! That's downright discrimination! That's no just cause!" The anger was clearly written in his face as he saw her drop her eyes toward the floor.

"Well," she began, "That is not their "official" reason for letting me go since, as you said, that is discrimination. But the school board is tricky and finds loopholes and circumstances in everything. They were somehow able to attain just cause, and here I am telling you all this today."

Gabriella Montez, who had been quiet and taking it all in, spoke up. "We can't let that happen to you, Ms. Darbus. It's not right. There has to be something we can do."

Gabriella's best friend, Taylor McKessie, cut in to add, "Of course we're going to do something, the rights of people everywhere are at stake here! They think they can just get rid of her because she is a woman that likes other women? I can't- I just- aaargh I can't even form a sentence I'm so angry about this!"

A slight, comforted smile, crept onto Ms. Darbus' face. They did care. Now it was time to see just how much.

"My dears, I would like you to hear me out. I am not going to fight the school board for my job back." Before the students could utter cries of rebuttal, she continued, "Wait, wait, I asked you to hear me out, now give me a chance. I am indeed reaching a point in my life where I should start thinking about retirement. That point just arrived a little more abruptly than I expected."

She could still see the fire in Taylor's eyes, in Troy's eyes, in all their eyes, angry because they think she is not going to take a stand.

"But," she interjected, with a twinkle in her eye and a slight smirk on her face, "that doesn't mean I'm not going to take a stand. I fully plan on going out with a bang."

The students' looks changed from ones of outrage to ones of curiosity. Several leaned forward eagerly in their seats.

"I have always been devoted to the theatre, and thus through the theatre I shall speak." She grinned in anticipation of her next words. "Now regarding the spring musicale: has anyone heard of a little musical known as RENT?"

After a brief moment of thought, Sharpay's face split into a knowing grin. Once glance at Ryan and he suddenly understood too. The Evans twins began a slow, appreciative applause. While the rest of the class looked a bit confused, trying to comprehend what would compel the twins to react as if Ms. Darbus had turned water into wine, there was a breathy declaration from the back of the room.

"Ms. Darbus, you are a genius," Taylor, science-dork extraordinaire Taylor McKessie, spoke with a clear expression of awe and admiration, "It looks like I'm going to have to audition for the spring musicale this year. Do I seem like the "Joanne" type to you?"

The class turned to stare at Taylor, who had been so anti-drama club until Gabriella secured the lead in Twinkle Towne, and even still was a science girl to the core. Their thoughts were the same: _Was she really giving up her science for Darbus' last musical?_

Ms. Darbus smiled genuinely. If Taylor understood and was on board, the rest would soon follow suit. "Miss McKessie, I think you would make a wonderful Joanne. Welcome to the Drama Club."

A/N: Okay the previous author's note still applies, I just couldn't fall asleep so I wrote the next chapter instead. I apologize that the romantic pairings are not immediate, but hopefully that build-up will all pay off in the end. Until then, I hope you're enjoying the story so far:o)


	3. Chapter 2

CALLING ALL RENTHEADS: This may come as a huge shock, but I have only ever seen RENT once, it was less than 2 weeks ago, on Broadway, for my birthday ($20 lotto front row seats suckas!)... loved it so much that I couldn't NOT write this story. This is where you all come in. Anyone willing to help me out with some RENT aspects if I find I need it? I'm not saying I will, but some fact checking and such on my part certainly won't hurt. Lemme know.

A/N: I leave for vacation in 3 days, but obviously I'm doing as much as I can before then. Also, I figured my first reviewers deserved a shout-out, so those are right below, and then it's on with the story... enjoy!

emmi82- ;o)

Mondler4EvEr- Glad you're liking it enough to review twice!

Braids21- Amazing? I try, hehe.

Cherrycola648- Continuing I am!

xoxo freaky math chick- GET OUTTA MY BRAIN :oP

EndlessDreamer1024- Your SharpayxTaylor made me want to write this that much more.

la04rosita- Update soon? Okay!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 2

"So you're telling me," Chad paused to swallow the bite of sandwich he was chewing, "that RENT is basically about sexuality, the homeless, and AIDS?"

"Well," started Taylor, ready to launch into finer detail about all the issues encompassed in the musical, but then decided against it, as it was Chad she was speaking to and she knew that as much as she had tried to culture him since they'd been together, he'd never get it, and continued, "Yeah, basically, if you wanna keep it simple."

"I like simple," Chad said, shooting her his award-winning smile.

"Don't I know it," Taylor joked back.

After taking another bite of his sandwich, Chad inquired, "So why do you wanna be this Joanne chick? She the resident hottie or something?"

This made Taylor chuckle. Despite the bantering chemistry the two had with each other, both knew that their relationship had hit something of a stalemate, but both were safe enough where they were at, so together they stayed.

"Actually," she replied, "Joanne is the resident brainiac. Ivy League."

As Chad grinned and shook his head, a voice spoke from over Taylor's shoulder.

"Resident lesbian, too." It was Sharpay. No need to look to know that Ryan also was right there, behind Sharpay.

This statement definitely caught Chad's attention. Turning to Taylor with a devilish glint in his eyes he kidded, "Wow, Tay, never had you pinned to be one to ditch me for the ladies."

"Hey, I admire her character, whatcha gonna do," Taylor shrugged back, knowing Chad was just teasing her.

"Yes well, if you are actually good enough to play the part, and I must admit it would come as a great surprise to me if you were, you better start preparing yourself for dealing with me," Sharpay cut in, since the attention had been diverted from her for a bit longer than she would have liked.

"But Shar, you don't want to be Joanne, you want to be Maureen!" Ryan stated, a bit confused.

Sharpay shot him a dismissive glance and then turned her eyes toward Taylor, who obviously comprehended immediately. The look of surprise on Taylor's face was quickly replaced with one of relaxation and cool determination, as she leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms, and pressed her lips into a smirk. Wordlessly, she had just accepted the challenge Sharpay had indirectly thrown at her.

In the meantime, Chad and Ryan were clueless to the non-conversation between the girls, so Chad figured now was as good a time as any to comment on Ryan's outfit for the second time today.

"Don't you have a little white skirt too? You and Sharpay could have really looked like twins."

Ryan rolled his eyes, as he was quite used to commentary on his wardrobe by now. Instead of being offended, he decided to go for shock value. "Actually, it's in the wash so I can wear it to auditions tomorrow," he said rather matter-of-factly. "And could you close your mouth? Your half-chewed sandwich is rather unattractive."

Chad hadn't even noticed he had reacted to Ryan's reply like he did. Closing his mouth and swallowing, he looked at Ryan and said, "You're serious. What the hell kind of musical is this anyway?"

Ryan smirked in victory, but still answered the question. "It's the kind that makes a statement to the ignorant people that got Darbus fired for being gay."

Though Sharpay and Taylor's eyes had been locked on each other in a silent exchange, both had overheard the conversation between Chad and Ryan, which obviously meant it was time for Sharpay to make her presence known again.

"By the way, Ryan, I swear I will kill you if you get anything on my skirt tomorrow. I don't care if the show is Angel-less because of it, you will be dead if you get anything on it."

Confused, Chad turned to Ryan again and said, "Wait you're playing an angel? What does that have to do with sexuality, homelessness, or AIDS?"

Ryan counted to three in his head. Sometimes people could be so out-of-tune with the arts. "Angel is the name of a character. Gay male. Tranny, actually." It was easier to just go with the slang and say 'tranny' rather than try to explain to Chad which 'trans-' Angel was exactly.

Chad's mouth formed a little 'o' at the reception of this news. Innately curious, he wondered aloud, "So you'll be dancing around on stage in a skirt during the entire musical?" He thought maybe they were playing a little joke on him or something. But Ryan answered in all seriousness, again.

"Yeah, for the most part. Angel does quite a bit of dancing on the stage, actually. Good thing I'm the best male dancer the school's got," Ryan complimented himself.

Chad scoffed at this declaration and smirked. Boldly, he stated, "Don't flatter yourself so much. I could take you, anywhere, anytime, Pretty Boy."

Ryan raised his eyebrows. Then a thought occurred. He would make the jock eat his words. "Anywhere, anytime? Is that a challenge? Fine, see you at auditions tomorrow." It was Ryan's turn to challenge with his eyes.

Chad never backed down from a challenge, and everyone knew it. Feeling three pairs of eyes on him, Chad knew he definitely couldn't break his streak on this one. "Alright, see you there then. Better bring your A-game, cuz you're gonna need it." Chad looked smug as he leaned back in his seat.

"Nah, I think my B-game will have it covered," Ryan shot back. Before Chad could reply, Ryan spun on his heel and headed up the stairs to his usual lunch table. Without Sharpay.

Sharpay turned to Taylor and shot her a patented smirk. If her brother was going to leave her behind, she was at least going to have the last word before she followed. And she knew there would be no comeback to this one.

"See you at auditions... Pookie."


	4. Chapter 3

Alrighty, I'm back from vacation, so that means I'm back to working on the story again. Before I proceed, I just wanted to clear a few things up, basically addressing a few questions left in reviews. Firstly, in order to effectively build the story, not all characters will be present in all chapters, so all I ask is patience in that department, and you all have been great so far. Secondly, despite the intriguing suggestion by darkxcloudyskyz, in which Chad would play Benny and Zeke would play Collins (which is actually a scenario I thought about before even writing the story), after careful consideration when laying out my general plot structure (yes, this story actually has a little bit of predetermined direction lol), I decided on the reverse, and thus have already started building my story in that direction. Finally, for those of you that missed the fun of my "See you at auditions... Pookie" line at the end of Chapter 2, I'll let you in on it: "Pookie" is the pet-name that Maureen uses with her significant others (in this case, Joanne). Since Sharpay will be trying out for Maureen and Taylor for Joanne... the perfect exit.

Huge THANK YOU to a) all the RENTheads willing to help me if I need it, b) those of you that took the time to submit a review, and c) all of you that have been reading anonymously (and hopefully enjoying it!) You all make me excited to continue on with the story and strive to make it as awesome as I can.

And just so there's no confusion: _thoughts_ and _'singing'_ (notice the presence of single quotes for singing)

Now enough with the drabble and on with the story!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 3

Troy Bolton breathed a sigh of relief. _Whew, got the last one_, he thought, reading over the back cover of the RENT dvd case while he waited online at the video store. _Gotta know what the hell is going on before auditions tomorrow afternoon._ Troy stepped up to the register, and upon receiving the dvd case to scan, the cashier chuckled.

"Another RENT dvd huh. These things have been flying off the shelf today. Is there something I missed?" the cashier asked. Troy recognized him as having been a senior when Troy was a freshman, so he figured he should have at least a slight knowledge of East High.

"Auditions for the East High Spring Musicale are tomorrow, and this is the musical we'll be trying out for. I guess most of us haven't seen it," Troy replied.

"RENT? That's the spring musical? Darbus must have finally fallen off her rocker," the cashier said, shaking his head and grinning to himself.

Troy was in no mood to explain, as he just wanted to get back to his house so he and Chad could watch the movie as many times as possible to prepare for auditions, so he simply noted, "Just so you know, this was the last copy on the shelf. You might want to order more." With that he grabbed his rental and continued to read the back cover as he walked out the door.

SLAM!

The dvd and a purse went scattering across the patio in front of the video store. Troy looked up and realized it was none other than his good friend Gabriella Montez that he had brainlessly crashed into.

"Oh my gosh, Gabriella, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Troy asked as he knelt down to help pick up the contents of her purse.

Gabriella just smiled her warm, friendly smile at him and replied, "It's okay, Troy, I'm fine, really. I should have been paying more attention. I'm just really in a hurry to grab a copy of RENT before tomorrow. Taylor doesn't own it either, so we were going to watch together and she was going to talk me through it, since she at least knows the storyline."

Troy winced a little. "Sorry to break the bad news to you, but this copy is the last one," he stated, holding up his distraction. Then, after a split second of thought, he continued, "Hey I've got an idea. Why don't you and Taylor come over to my house and watch it? Chad and I were going to do the same thing, except having someone who knows the movie would definitely help a lot. So what's it gonna be? You in?"

_Try to act cool. Try not to look too excited,_ Gabriella inwardly commanded herself. She clutched her purse to release some energy, and it helped calm her down enough to sound smooth when she spoke. "Sure. I've just gotta let Taylor know. What time should we come over?"

Troy looked at his watch. 3:37. Figuring that he was now dealing with two girls here, he suggested, "How about 4:30? That should give you and Taylor enough time to do whatever girly things you do before you leave the house."

Gabriella loved when he teased her. _That means there's still hope, _she reminded herself. In outward response to his statement, however, she just laughed, smiled, and said, "See you at 4:30 then." With a cute little wave, she headed off to Taylor's house.

_Well played, Gabriella_, she congratulated herself, unable to contain her grin now that Troy was out of sight. It seemed that every move had to be carefully calculated around Troy now. She didn't want to lose her chance a second time. She thought back, and scolded herself for the umpteenth time for messing things up the first time. The first chance had happened at the cast party after the final performance of Twinkle Towne. She really liked Troy, and she knew that he really really liked her. But she had never had a boyfriend before, and although she felt like she had known Troy all her life, her head told her that only knowing him a couple months was too soon to start dating him. He had gone to kiss her, and she turned her cheek. She explained to him that she had never dated before and that she didn't feel like she knew him as a friend yet. She wanted to be friends first. Troy accepted that, and to Gabriella's misfortune, he had accepted that to the point where he really truly did think of her as a friend and nothing more. After that night there were no more stolen glances, no more little flirtations. He treated her like one of the guys, and it was after a few weeks of being treated as such that Gabriella realized what a huge mistake she had made in letting her head get the better of her heart. Now she had to plot out her every move around him, hoping and praying that something would reignite his interest in her. _Chemistry like that doesn't just go away_, she thought.

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"Dude that movie was awesome!" Chad exclaimed, as Troy jumped up onto his wooden coffee table in the den.

"And a killer soundtrack too!" Troy added, with accompanying air guitar. Bursting into song fragments from "What You Own," complete with air guitar, he sang '_The filmmaker cannot see!_'

Chad fired back, '_And the songwriter cannot hear!_' and jumped up onto the couch.

Together they skipped the in-between and went straight to the next part they remembered, which was the chorus:

'_You're living in America  
__At the end of the millennium  
__You're living in America  
__Where it's like the Twilight Zone'_

They were now jumping around the room on top of things and then leaping off of things, as the girls sat huddled next to each other on the couch laughing. But the overly enthused boys continued on:

'_And when you're living in America  
__At the end of the millennium  
__You're what you own'_

Taylor and Gabriella continued to sit and laugh, though both unknowingly were thinking the same thing: _This is so sixth grade dance_. The girls and boys were separated, and the boys were acting like little kids while the girls watched the boys and their antics. It bothered both of them that it had been the same way throughout the entire movie, as Taylor and Gabriella sat together while Troy kicked back in a recliner and Chad sprawled out on the other couch. But they were bothered for different reasons: Taylor because she and Chad were dating (_Even though we really shouldn't be_) and Gabriella because she and Troy were not dating (_Even though we really should be_).

The boys were now on their knees on the floor, in full rock-out air guitar mode, finishing up with a loud:

'_And when you're dying in America  
__At the end of the millennium  
__You're not alone'_

The boys jumped to their feet and celebrated with a high five and a chest bump before complimenting each other.

"Troy, buddy, you've gotta audition for Roger tomorrow. I mean, look how you just rocked that song, man!" started Chad.

"Yo and you should try out for Mark! We've already got the best buds thing going on. No one could touch us!" finished Troy.

"Yeah, Chad would make one fine white Jewish boy," Taylor cracked. Everyone enjoyed a good laugh at that one.

"Man I'm thirsty now," Chad stated, rather hoarsely from the singing and the laughing. "You got any soda in that kitchen of yours?"

"I dunno, let's go see what we have." And with that the two boys bounded up the stairs, still with an excited spring in their steps.

Taylor and Gabriella looked at each other and simply said, "Boys."

After a moment, Taylor stood up and continued, "Hey you wanna go upstairs too and grab a soda and a snack? We should probably eat something if we're gonna watch this again."

"Sure," Gabriella agreed and proceeded to follow Taylor up the stairs. And all she could think about was how RENT was giving her her second chance with Troy. And that second chance was a drug-addicted, HIV-afflicted club dancer named Mimi.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: The next few chapters are probably gonna be a bit songfic-y (though I'm not a huge fan of songfics myself, I don't exactly have much of a choice when I'm using RENT in my story hehehe), but I promise I won't bore you by doing only one audition per chapter. Except this one lol. But hopefully it's not boring.

I do, however, have a major SUGGESTION for you all: the singing during the auditions is like a million times more effective if you know what the songs sound like, since they are some good and/or powerful stuff. Go to youtube, type in RENT and the song title, and play the video before you read, while you read, whatever, and picture the HSM character performing it. Trust me on this one ;o)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 4

RIIIIIIING!

3:00. The dismissal bell. _Half an hour until the moment of truth_, thought Ms. Darbus. She knew she had to cast this musical just right in order to really get her message across. What she had seen throughout the day in the halls and the lunchrooms and echoing from the bathrooms was extremely encouraging. Her students had somehow, in the course of 24 hours, acquired songs from RENT to put on their iPods and mp3 players in a sincere effort to learn the words to the songs they might audition with. She had heard Gabriella singing in the bathroom, Sharpay humming down the hallway, and Taylor mouthing words to her headphones that she was wearing during science class because she already knew the material they were covering. At lunch, she spotted Ryan sporting a set of drumsticks, practicing beats on the lunch table. During free period, she spied the basketball team in the video room reviewing footage from the movie. Naturally, Kelsi was in the music room fervently practicing her accompaniment for the auditions that afternoon. It seemed that everywhere she turned, Ms. Darbus saw students mouthing or humming or singing RENT tunes. It pleased her that despite the extremely short notice given about when auditions were to take place, the students rose to the challenge and really truly wanted to be a part of Ms. Darbus' final statement.

Looking down at the auditions list in her hand, she was both excited and nervous at the names that appeared on it. There had never been so many names with no acting experience, which on one hand gave her the warm-and-fuzzies that the students were so enthusiastic, and on the other hand worried her that her final show would go down the tubes due to lack of experience. A quick glance at the list revealed names such as: Taylor McKessie, Martha Cox, Chad Danforth, Zeke Baylor, and Jason Cross. Ms. Darbus winced heavily at the last 3 names she read. _Basketball players! I know that Troy was a lovely surprise, but the chances of having 3 more as good as Troy?_ She tried to remain hopeful. Only 27 minutes left now.

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3:29:55... 3:29:56... 3:29:57... CRASH! Gabriella stampeded through the auditorium doors with 2 seconds to spare. Composing herself and casually walking down the aisle, she worked her way to the front row and plopped herself into the nearest seat, placing her shopping bags on the floor next to her. _Had to start finding my rebellious streak sometime soon anyway, _she thought. She had skipped her last class to shop at the local Goodwill store in town to purchase some very un-Gabriella items at some very Gabriella prices. Taylor knew Gabriella was nearly the definition of goody-two-shoes, so she had definitely taken notice when Gabriella was missing from last period. She shot a recuperating Gabriella a questioning glance, to which Gabriella silently mouthed back "later." Taylor craned her neck in attempt to see what was in Gabriella's multiple shopping bags, but unable to see anything, she turned her attention to the stage, where Ms. Darbus was about to begin the auditioning process.

"I must admit," she started, "that I am completely overwhelmed by the student response to this spring's musical. Never in my life have I been so proud to call such students my own. I thank every one of you for gathering the courage to write your name on that audition sheet and to show up here today." She looked around appreciatively to the smiling students. "Miss Nielsen, could you please hand me my notes?"

"Here you go, Ms. Darbus," Kelsi Nielsen said, as she scooted off her piano bench to walk the notes over to center stage.

"Thank you, dear," Ms. Darbus replied. Turning to the students, she stated, "Kelsi will once again be providing her beautiful piano accompaniment, along with controlling additional background music, since this is a rock opera and all." Ms. Darbus smiled in response to the enthusiastic grins.

She continued, "Now without further ado, let me explain how the auditions process is going to work this time. First, anyone wishing to audition for a main character will perform no more than 2 minutes of the selected number. If you are unsure of which main character you would like to audition for, by default the males will audition as Mark and the females as Mimi. After all auditions are completed for main characters, I will review my notes and start placing people in duet and ensemble situations. There will be no callbacks this year, as I will be making all casting decisions today. I hope you were all prepared for a long afternoon." She looked around the room, and to her surprise, there was no grumbling coming from the students. A second look revealed that many of them had packed snacks and even dinners for themselves.

"I have all the song excerpts to be sung for each character here in my hand. When it is your turn to perform, you will be permitted to sing the section that is on the sheet I hand you. For the sake of time, please do not sing further even if you do know the rest of the words." She looked around again, and noticed that some of the students were looking a little nervous. _Okay, time to tone down the professionalism a bit_.

"In order to ease some of your fears, I will tell you right now which songs the excerpts have been taken from for each character. Some songs are more monologues than songs, but that's the way it is. Okay, here we go: if auditioning for Roger Davis, you will sing from 'One Song Glory;' for Mark Cohen, 'La Vie Boheme;' for Angel Schunard, 'Today 4 U;' for Benjamin Coffin III, or Benny, 'You'll See;' for Tom Collins, 'Santa Fe;' for Mimi Marquez, 'Out Tonight;' for Joanne Jefferson, 'We're Okay;' and finally for Maureen Johnson, 'Over the Moon.' Sound good to everyone?" she asked. Enthusiastic nodding ensued.

"Well then, let us begin!" she exclaimed. "We will start off with auditions for the role of Roger Davis. Who will be performing?" She scanned the crowd. Only one hand.

"Okay Mr. Bolton, why don't you show us what you've got!" she said with an excited fist pump.

Troy walked up to the stage and took the piece of paper from Ms. Darbus. Troy was confident with singing "One Song Glory," but he took the paper simply so he knew where he was supposed to stop singing. Ms. Darbus took her seat at her table and Kelsi prepared the background music. Kelsi then signaled to Troy that she was ready, and Troy gave her a hearty thumbs-up in acknowledgement. The preceding music began. He was ready to kick start these auditions with an emotional bang.

'_One song  
Glory  
One song  
Before I go  
Glory  
One song to leave behind  
Find  
One song  
One last refrain  
Glory  
From the pretty boy front man  
Who wasted opportunity  
One song  
He had the world at his feet  
Glory  
In the eyes of a young girl  
A young girl  
Find  
Glory  
Beyond the cheap colored lights  
One song  
Before the sun sets  
Glory  
On another empty life  
Time fliiiiies  
Time diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiies_

_Gloryyyyyyyyy- one blaze of glooooooooooory  
One blaze of glooooooooooory- gloooryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'_

As Troy finished holding the last note and the music stopped, his peers in the audience began clapping in amazement. Troy started to blush. Ms. Darbus looked like she had seen a ghost.

After the applause died down, Ms. Darbus finally spoke, "Mr. Bolton, you gave me chills. That song was perfect for you. What a marvelous way to start off the audition process. Well done!"

_Well done indeed,_ thought Gabriella. After that performance, Troy was a shoo-in for the part of Roger. Glancing into her bags, she reminded herself, _Now I've just gotta hold up my end_.

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A/N pt 2: FYI, Martha Cox is not someone I made up, but in fact is the name listed on imdb for the pop-and-lock girl character in the "Status Quo" sequence. She won't be a major character by any means, but I wanted another actual HSM name to put on the auditions list, so Martha Cox it is. :o)


	6. Chapter 5

Thank you all for being so patient... you'll find out who's gonna be who when Ms. Darbus makes those decisions (though some of you may figure it out beforehand). ;o)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 5

A still-beet-red Troy gave a sheepish grin and made his way back to his seat next to Chad. He knew he had knocked the song out of the park, but the reaction from his peers was quite unexpected. He was not blushing from embarrassment, but rather because he was taken completely off guard by the applause. After settling down into his seat, Chad turned to him.

"Dude," was all he said. It was all he needed to say. Chad could probably have an entire conversation with Troy using only the word 'dude' and both of them would understand perfectly what the other was saying. They celebrated with a fist pound and then turned to face Ms. Darbus at center stage.

"Is there anyone else wishing to audition for the role of Roger Davis?" she asked. Silence befell the room. No one dared to try out for that exact part after Troy's performance.

"Okay, moving on then. Next up will be auditions for the role of Mark Cohen. This includes those of you that are unsure of which specific role you are interested in, but you know you want a major part. Show of hands?" Six hands went up, including those of Chad, Zeke, and Jason. "Would anyone like to go first?"

"I would, Ms. Darbus," replied a grinning Chad. As he stood up, he shot a competitive glance at Ryan Evans, with whom he locked eyes for a second. Ryan coolly leaned back in his chair, ready for the competition to begin. Chad narrowed his eyes as he turned away and headed toward Ms. Darbus. _Lord of the Dance thinks he's the best in the school. Just wait till he sees my moves on stage. And he thought he could throw me off by saying he was gonna wear a skirt today! Yeah, those pants sure look like a skirt to me. I'll show him._ Chad grinned as he was handed the lyrics. He pointed his finger to Kelsi to signal that he was ready.

'_Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyyyyyyyyyyyyyes  
__Here she liiiiiiiiiiiies  
__No one knew her worth  
__The late great daughter of mother earth  
__On this night when we celebrate the birth  
__In that little town of Bethlehem  
__We raise our glass  
__You bet your ass- to  
__La vieeee Boheeeeeme_

_La vie Boheme  
_(Chad began to dance the Harlem Shake)  
_La vie Boheme  
__La vie Boheme  
_(The shake merged into an improvised pop-and-lock)  
_La vie Boheme_

_To days of inspiration  
__Playing hooky, making something out of nothing  
__The need to express-  
__To communicate  
__To going against the grain  
__Going insane  
__Going maaaaad_

_To loving tension, no pension  
__To more than one dimension  
__To starving for attention  
__Hating convention, hating pretension  
__Not to mention, of course  
__Hating dear old mom and daaaaad_

_To riding your bike  
__Midday past the three piece suits  
__To fruits- to no absolutes-  
__To Absolut- to choice-  
__To the Village Voice-  
__To any passing fad  
__To being an us for once- instead of a them_

_La vie Boheme'_

Throughout the number, Chad delivered fluid dance moves, during several of which he locked eyes with Ryan, each time challenging him to beat the move. Ryan sat stone cold, legs and arms crossed the entire time, yet actually clapped a few times in acknowledgement of some level of skill after Chad was done performing.

"Very well done, Mr. Danforth," Ms. Darbus commented. "I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by your performance ability, especially your dancing." Chad shot a winning glance toward Ryan, who looked slightly pouty in his seat.

"Thanks, Ms. Darbus," Chad grinned. He made his way back to his seat next to Troy, who was eagerly awaiting a celebratory high five.

Scanning the crowd, Ms. Darbus questioned, "I believe we have five more auditions for Mark, correct? Mr. Baylor, why don't you go next."

As Zeke approached the stage, Chad leaned over to Troy and whispered, "Hey I'm gonna run to the bathroom and then to my locker to get my dinner. Roast beef sub sandwich, hehe."

In Chad's absence the remaining auditions for Mark took place. Both Zeke and Jason were auditioning as Mark because they honestly did not know what role they really wanted. Zeke had a surprisingly strong voice, but stood relatively still during the performance, save for some head bobbing, foot tapping, and hand gestures. Jason, on the other hand, had a voice that was slightly more boyish, yet still very good. Jason also really got into character, having incorporated relatively spazzy dance moves with some hand gestures. The remaining three boys auditioning were all underclassmen, two sophomores and a freshman, none whose performances compared to those of the basketball team members, much to Ms. Darbus' surprise.

"And that concludes the auditions for the role of Mark Cohen. Next up we will hold auditions for Angel Schunard. Any takers?" asked Ms. Darbus.

"Right here, Ms. Darbus," appeared a voice from stage right. Emerging from behind the curtain was a barely noticeable Ryan Evans. He was holding drumsticks and wearing a black feminine wig, obvious make up, white tiger striped stockings, chunky-heeled black shoes, a long sleeved v-neck top, and the little white skirt he had washed the day before. Every jaw in the crowd dropped, except for Sharpay's, which instead was grinning with anticipation.

Ms. Darbus cleared her throat and exclaimed with youthful enthusiasm, "Well, let's get this party started!"

As Kelsi fiddled with the music, Chad returned to the auditorium with his roast beef sub and root beer. So as not to disturb the performance, Chad sat in the aisle seat in the very back row. The music began to play and Chad stared at the student on the stage with curiosity. Chad's interest was aroused by who appeared to be a new girl. _A hot new girl, at that. A little flat-chested though... must be a freshman. Intriguing voice. And those are definitely some pretty nice moves._ He leaned back into his chair and sipped on his soda. He wasn't going to risk looking away to eat while a hot girl in a skirt was kicking that high on the stage.

'_It was my lucky day today on Avenue A  
__When a lady in a limousine drove my way  
__She said, "Darling- be a dear- haven't slept in a year  
__I need your help to make my neighbor's yappy dog disappear"  
_"_This Akita-Evita just won't shut up  
__I believe if you play non-stop that pup  
__Will breathe its very last high-strung breath  
__I'm certain that cur will bark itself to death"_

_Today for you- tomorrow for me  
__Today for you- tomorrow for me_

_We agreed on a fee- a thousand dollar guarantee  
__Tax free- and a bonus if I trim her tree  
__Now who could foretell that it would go so well  
__But sure as I am here that dog is now in doggy hell  
__After an hour- Evita- in all her glory  
__On that window ledge of that 23rd story  
__Like Thelma & Louise did when they got the blues  
__Swan dove into the courtyard of the Gracie Mews_

_Today for you- tomorrow for me  
__Today for you- tomorrow for me'_

Ryan had danced his way down to Ms. Darbus' judging table. Right on cue, he whipped out his drumsticks and began the percussion solo a mere foot away from Ms. Darbus. Kelsi quickly noticed Ryan was actually drumming and not faking, so she turned down the music to let Ryan shine. All of a sudden, Ryan spun around while still drumming, and then gracefully leaped up on top of the table, kicking his leg up high a split second after he landed. Hopping down from the table, he danced his way back on stage and continued.

_'Then back to the street where I met my sweet  
__Where he was moaning and groaning on the cold concrete  
__The nurse took him home for some mercurochrome  
__And I dressed his wounds and got him back on his feet  
__Sing it_

_Today for you- tomorrow for me  
__Today for you- tomorrow for me  
__Today for you- tomorrow for me  
__Today for you- tomorrow for me'_

Chad began to clap and cheer from the back of the auditorium, hoping maybe the unfamiliar girl on stage would make a mental note and talk to him later.

"That was a fabulous performance, Mr. Evans!" proclaimed Ms. Darbus, as Ryan pulled off his wig and ran his hand through his sweaty blonde hair.

Ryan had truly nailed the routine. His dancing was spot-on, full of high kicks and graceful spins.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Darbus. It was a lot of fun to perform," Ryan said with a smirk, glancing toward the back of the auditorium. He was the only one to notice Chad spill his soda on his lap out of total surprise and then bolt out the door. They may not have settled who the better dancer was, but it was clear who won the battle that day. Ryan smiled in victory.

As Chad made a beeline for the boys' room, he glanced down at his soaked pants. _Great, I look like I wet myself. How am I supposed to explain that I spilled my soda because I thought Ryan Evans was a hot girl?_

He broke into a run and nearly collided with another body as he rounded the corner.

"Oh, sorry Chad! Have the auditions for Mimi begun yet?"

Chad stood speechless and stared at the figure before him. Beautiful wavy locks of long, dark hair... black eyeliner... black spaghetti-strapped tank top... black pleather pants... black chunky-heeled knee-high go-go boots? After giving a once-over, Chad reached out and tugged gently, yet firmly on one of the big curls.

"Not a wig," Chad muttered in a relieved tone when the head moved with the hair.

"Of course it's not a wig, Chad."

"Just wanted to make sure you... weren't a guy," mumbled Chad.

"Of course I'm not a guy, Chad! It's me, Gabriella!" cried an exasperated Gabriella.

Chad shook his head rapidly, as if to clear the fog from his brain. "Whoa," he said, as he gave her another once-over.

Gabriella looked at him quizzically and then asked, "Wait, why would you think I was a guy?"

Chad felt his ears get hot. Glancing down at his still wet pants, he hurriedly dodged the question with, "Uh, sorry, I gotta go!" and then took off down the hallway to the bathroom.

A very confused Gabriella stared after him. _Hmm_, she thought. _Wonder what I missed._


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: I have updated my author profile to include what I refer to as "Rather Insightful Author Commentary Regarding _Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me_." I was going to include it as an author's note before this chapter, but it got way too long for me to do that. It's about my characterization and time frame in this story, among other observations and opinions. It was meant for everyone to read, so go ahead and check it out when you're done with the chapter.

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 6

_I canNOT believe I spilled my root beer on my crotch!_ Chad scolded himself, as he made the soaked area even wetter with water in an attempt to get rid of the stickiness and the smell of the soda. _I look like I need freakin' Depends!_

In order to effectively rinse the root beer out of his pants, he needed to take them off, so he was standing in the boys' room in his boxers. Of course, he had worn his lucky boxers today for auditions, so there he was parading around to no one in his My Little Pony boxer shorts. Two years ago, Troy had given him the boxers as a gag gift at Christmas and said he'd give Chad $10 to wear them at their next basketball game. Chad accepted the deal, wore the boxers, and scored a career high 31 points in his JV basketball game. He had worn them to every game since, considering them his lucky boxers.

Chad pulled his pants out of the sink and stuck them under the hand dryer so he could eventually get back to the rest of auditions. _This could take awhile_, he thought.

"Cute boxers," said a voice from behind him.

Chad had not heard the door open due to the noise of the hand dryer. He whipped around to face none other than Ryan Evans. Ryan was still wearing full make up and his entire audition outfit, minus the wig, which he held in his hand.

"They're my lucky boxers! They were a gag gift!" Chad defended, too startled to come up with any sort of clever retort.

"Hey, I just said they were cute, that's all," replied Ryan, shrugging. Ryan went from angel to devil (or Angel) in 2.5 seconds, throwing on the wig, cocking his head, approaching Chad, putting his hand on his chest, and asking, "Do you think _I'm_ cute?"

Chad snapped out of his frozen state and stepped back, throwing Ryan's hand away. Ryan took another step forward, this time reaching out and snatching the still-wet pants out of Chad's hand.

"Did I make you wet?" Ryan teased, putting on his best Angel impression. Ryan was obviously relishing the fact that Chad thought he was a hot girl up on the stage, and planned to milk the teasing for all it was worth.

"Stop it!" hollered Chad, as he grabbed his pants back from Ryan. Fed up with the mocking, he pulled Ryan's wig off too. Ryan bursted out into laughter.

"You... really thought... I was... a hot girl!" Ryan choked out between laughs. He was laughing so hard that tears were starting to run down his cheeks, smearing his make up. Wiping his eyes, he struck a pose, putting his hand on his jutting out hip and his other hand above his head leaning on a wall, while shooting Chad a look of faux-seduction.

"This turn you on?" Ryan asked in a false-sexy voice, fighting back the laughter.

Chad narrowed his eyes and marched over to Ryan. Putting his face a mere 6 inches away from Ryan's, he stared him straight in the eye and growled in a low voice, "Not funny." With that, he shoved the wig back into Ryan's chest and stormed his way out of the bathroom in search of a Ryan-less bathroom to finish drying his pants in. He could hear Ryan's peals of laughter echoing as the door was closing behind him.

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Gabriella sat with her arms folded across her chest protectively as she watched the beginning of the Mimi auditions. She would be going last because hers was the last name taken down, due to her late arrival. She was wearing a long parka to cover her outfit, and had entered the auditorium wearing such. No one knew what she had lying beneath the exterior of the bland maroon parka except for Chad, who was still in the bathroom drying his pants.

In an attempt to calm her nerves, she focused intensively on watching Martha Cox and her dance moves. _Those moves are pretty Mimi, alright,_ she thought. Gabriella studied the moves like they were a new trigonometry proof, absorbing every detail in order to correctly reproduce them later. She knew she had what it took to pull off those dance moves and to really get into the character of Mimi, but there was the stage fright issue. _Just play pretend_, she convinced herself. _You are not Gabriella Montez, you are Mimi Marquez, and these people are your paying customers in your club. Give 'em a good show_.

"Those were quite the dance moves, Miss Cox. Nicely done," complimented Ms. Darbus. "And finally, auditioning for Mimi we have Gabriella Montez. Miss Montez?"

Gabriella let out the deep breath she had been holding. _Showtime._ "Coming, Ms. Darbus."

She glanced at the paper she was handed, searching for her stopping point in "Out Tonight." She walked over and placed the paper on top of Kelsi's piano, not needing the lyrics since she had them memorized already. Returning to center stage, she nodded to Kelsi, signaling that she was ready. _Ready as I'll ever be_, Gabriella decided. The music started playing, and almost as if entering a trance, she rhythmically swayed her hips back and forth, singing:

'_What's the time  
Well it's gotta be close to midnight  
My body's talking to me  
It says, "Time for danger"  
It says, "I wanna commit a crime  
Wanna be the cause of a fight  
I wanna put on a tight skirt and flirt  
With a stranger"'_

At the word 'flirt,' Gabriella whipped open her parka, which was only being held closed by a single snap button in the middle. She dropped it to the floor behind her, eliciting gasps from the crowd in response to her sexy black outfit. Gabriella was too absorbed in pretending to be Mimi that she didn't even notice that the crowd reacted. She started really grinding her hips and continued singing:

'_I've had a knack from way back  
At breaking the rules once I learn the games  
Get up- life's too quick  
I know someplace sick  
Where this chick'll dance in the flames_

_We don't need any money  
I always get in for free  
You can get in too  
If you get in with me_

_Let's go oooooouuuuuut tonight  
I have to go oooooouuuuuut tonight_

_You wanna play?  
Let's run away  
We won't be back before it's Christmas Day  
Take me oooooooooout tonight  
Meow- HA!'_

During the brief musical interlude, Gabriella really got into the dancing. Circling her hips emphatically, she ran her hands suggestively down the sides of her body. Facing her backside toward the crowd, she stunned everyone with a booty-drop, gave it a little slap, then turned around again, raising her arms over her tilted-back head, still swaying her hips, and continued singing:

'_When I get a wink from the doorman  
Do you know how lucky you'll be?  
That you're on line with the feline of  
Avenue B'_

Sensually pretending to "ride the pony", she finished with:

'_Let's go oooooouuuuuut tonight  
I have to go oooooouuuuuut tonight'_

The music stopped and there was a second of startled silence. Gabriella was still zoned out and was not thinking of anything at all for possibly the first time in her life. Finally, the crowd snapped out of their paralysis and began to wildly applaud and whistle at her provocative showing.

The noise of the applause and whistles was enough to send Gabriella crashing back down to Earth. Flushing a bright red, she snatched the parka off the floor and clutched it to her body, hiding as much as humanly possible without actually putting it back on.

"Miss Montez... What an astounding performance! I almost thought that was an entirely different person on the stage!"

"Yeah, me too," squeaked Gabriella, gripping the parka tighter.

"Very in character, VERY well done. Brava," Ms. Darbus complimented with a smile.

As the whispering continued to rush through the crowd, Troy Bolton was speechless as to what had just unfolded before his eyes. His brain couldn't even form a coherent thought, let alone a spoken word. As if his body was on autopilot, he swallowed hard, reached down, grabbed his backpack, and positioned it delicately on his lap. He was definitely not going to be moving for awhile.

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A/N pt. 2: If you wanna get a good idea of the performance, go to youtube and watch the opening night performance of "Out Tonight" by Daphne Rubin-Vega of the Original Broadway Cast. Gabriella's performance was very loosely based on that. I think I like the singing voice of Antonique Smith (that's who I saw when I went) better though, but that's just me.

Anyways, I guess this chapter finally earned that 'T' rating that I slapped onto the story from the beginning :oP Let me know what you think of it!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Apparently Chapter 6 went over so well with you, my readers, that the number of hits on it actually SURPASSED that of the chapter before it! I guess a few of you re-read it a couple times, hehe. And 27 reviews for Chapter 6? Awesome stuff, guys, I'm really glad you all are enjoying the story this much because I'm enjoying writing it for you. To be honest, I wasn't sure whether there would be much of an audience for a story like this, but my brain kept nagging me to write it. I'm definitely glad I did! Would you believe that I was struggling through writer's block during Chapter 6? Ironic, now that's the chapter I have to try to top... didn't do a very good job of setting myself up for the easy road, that's for sure! Sorry I took so long to update, but this was definitely the longest chapter I've written so far... hopefully it comes close to the awesomeness of the last one!

And in honor of you lovely readers reviewing me into the triple digits (yayness for over 100 reviews!), I'm going to use this space to thank those of you that took the time to do so by listing your name below in order of first review (followed by times reviewed):

emmi82, Mondler4EvEr (x7), Braids21 (x3), Cherrycola648 (x5), xoxo freaky math chick (x4), EndlessDreamer1024 (x3), la04rosita (x5), Average Everyday Sane Psycho, Beautiful-Romantic (x3), Gabriella, Odette17, smilePiNAYstyle, BrightEyesx (x5), RentheadRose, apruhl GEE, Love Liberty Disco x, darkxcloudyskyz, phyllie24 (x4), Bal8rokstar (x4), Jessie, TrChSpHa (x2), Namir-da, thepoweroflove (x2), leftbackrunner77, KelsiLovesLucas (x4), dash the kitten (x4), cream-cheese-girl (x2), DX Shawn Michaels Triple H DX (x4), Purple Rhapsody (x3), Twitchy the Squirrel (x5), mylifeismine (x2), welovehsm, HauntedWhisper714 (x2), sarah is kooky (x2), Mrs.Maricelle123456789 (x2), dcsprousegirl-, brunchfun505, marbleschan, Red Nailpolish, lovetoread17, lol925, Celestial Pendent (x2), RENT HEAD, SilverConlon, xDreamTearzx (x2), Roger Davis' Song of Glory, zanessafanforever, Panting Slightly

There you have the shout-outs! Biggest THANK YOUs from the bottom of my heart :o)

Also, I changed the summary of the story in an attempt to draw in some more "on the fence" kind of readers, so don't get surprised when you see the new summary.

Now let's get to Chapter 7, where we finally get a little Sharpay back in our lives! (Oh, c'mon, you know you've missed her.)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 7

Gabriella was still flushing a bright red amidst the stares from the crowd as she returned to her seat next to Taylor. She briefly caught Sharpay's eyes, the left of which had its eyebrow raised, accompanying a facial expression that seemed somewhat impressed that the poster girl for Do-gooders Unanonymous had it in her to put on such a naughty performance. Gabriella quickly turned her head in the opposite direction, toward Taylor, even though when she sat down, Sharpay was still only 3 seats away. She felt her eyes boring through the back of her skull.

"Oh. My. God!" squealed Taylor quietly. She kept her voice down and embellished, "You were amazing! You look amazing! Hot! That's what you cut class for isn't it."

Gabriella nodded, so Taylor continued in a normal tone, "But seriously, how am I supposed to go up there and audition after that performance?"

"Oh I'm sure you'll look 'hot' up there too, Pookie," Sharpay butted in from a few seats over.

"Miss McKessie, I believe you are up to perform as Joanne, yes?" Ms. Darbus called out to Taylor.

Sharpay raised both eyebrows and smirked slightly at Taylor. She could tell that she really wanted to burst out with some sort of comeback, but Ms. Darbus beckoned at just the right moment. It was perfect for Sharpay.

Taylor, on the other hand, became even more fired up for her performance of "We're Okay." Part song, part monologue, she had to do some singing interspersed between rapid conversation involving the use of the proper phone. Kelsi would be cuing the rings from the side, but Taylor would have to use her right hand as the pay phone while she held her own cell in the left.

As Taylor approached the stage, the faint sound of a door shutting could be heard from the back of the auditorium. Chad with his finally-dry pants returned to consume his dinner just in time to be a good boy and watch Taylor's performance. He could tell decisively that this was not Ryan Evans as a transvestite up on the stage, so he comfortably settled back into eating his sub sandwich, fully intending to applaud louder than he did for the "hot new girl" and make himself feel better.

The music started and so did Taylor:

(on cell phone)  
'_Steve - Joanne  
__The Murget case?  
__A dismissal!  
__Good work, Councilor  
__We're okaaaaay_

(the payphone rings)  
_Honeybear - Wait!  
__I'm on the other phone  
__Yes I have the cowbell  
__We're okaaaaay_

(into cell phone)  
_So tell them we'll sue  
__But a settlement will do  
__Sexual harassment - And civil rights too  
__Steve, you're great  
_(into pay phone)  
_No you cut the paper plate  
__Didja cheat on Mark a lot would you say?  
__We're okaaaaay_

_Honey, hold on...  
_(into cell phone)  
_Steve, hold on...  
_(She presses the call waiting button on cellular phone)  
_Hello?  
__Dad - Yes  
__I beeped you  
__Maureen is coming to mother's hearing  
__We're okaaaaay _

(into pay phone)  
_Honeybear - What?  
__Newt's lesbian sister  
__I'll tell them  
_(into cell phone)  
_You heard?  
_(into pay phone)  
_They heard  
__We're okaaaaay_

(into cell phone)  
_And to you, Dad  
_(she presses call waiting as she says into pay phone)  
_Yes - Jill is there?  
_(into cell phone)  
_Steve gotta -  
_(into pay phone)  
_Jill with the short black hair?  
__The Calvin Klein model?  
_(into cell phone)  
_Steve gotta go!  
_(into pay phone)  
_The model who lives in Penthouse A?  
__We're  
__Weeeee're okaaaaay_

_I'm on my way'_

Taylor was nearly out of breath from the demanding pace of the number, but her performance had been spot on. She had managed to make it seem like she was attempting to hold multiple real phone conversations at once. Her peers applauded her effort, knowing full well that none of them could have pulled off what Taylor had just accomplished.

"Stupendous, Miss McKessie! And to recite it from memory... what a top notch performance!" raved Ms. Darbus, thoroughly impressed.

Taylor beamed with pride, pleased that her first foray into acting had gone over so well. She had surprised even herself that she nailed it without having to resort to the paper even once, although she knew she had a good memory. If she could memorize all those math proofs and chemical equations, she surely could remember the lines of a song.

What may have surprised her even more than her own performance was the look on Sharpay's face as she returned to her seat. Sharpay's eyebrows were still raised like they had been when Taylor had taken the stage, but the smirk had been wiped clean off. She almost seemed to be in shock that science girl Taylor actually had a gift for acting. As Taylor neared, she thought she saw a faint glimmer of apology in Sharpay's eyes, but dismissed it as the bright stage lights reflecting off the deep brown. When Ryan took a seat next to his sister, Taylor turned her eyes away and started to excitedly chatter with Gabriella.

Unacknowledged by the rest of the auditorium, from the back of the room Chad had stood up and started applauding and cheering immediately following Taylor's performance. Seemingly out of thin air, hot breath had warmed his ear and spoke in a low voice,

"You sure that wasn't a hot boy again?"

Chad whipped his head around as Ryan pulled his freshly made-up face back, gave a quick smirk, firmly patted Chad's ass, and strutted his way down the aisle to reclaim his seat next to his sister, leaving a frozen Chad behind at the back of the auditorium.

Perhaps 'frozen' was not the right word to describe what Chad was feeling. Ryan's breath and touch had seared his skin. He was feeling hot tingles running through his entire body and was rendered immobile. His face started to flush even more when he thought frustratedly, _That's it! I've had enough! Ryan Evans is gonna get what he deserves. Two can play this game._ Chad cooled slightly and settled back down in his seat to finally polish off that roast beef sandwich he had been trying to eat for what seemed like forever.

Up in the front of the auditorium, Ryan plunked down in the vacant seat next to his twin and asked, "Is it time for my darling sister to send the audience 'Over the Moon'?"

"Cute, Ryan," Sharpay groaned as she rolled her eyes.

Ryan toned his voice down so only Sharpay could hear him. "Taylor was actually pretty good, wasn't she. At least you'll be working with someone that can act," Ryan observed objectively.

Sharpay shot him a pointed look and replied, "Don't jump to that conclusion until you actually see us on stage together. We'll see if she can step up when it counts."

"Now we shall begin auditions for my absolute favorite character, Maureen Johnson!" Ms. Darbus announced with a dramatic flare. "Who dares to take on this challenge?"

Sharpay rose from her seat, cowbell and drumstick in hand. "That would be me, Ms. Darbus," she announced, scanning the room for any other hands that dare defy her. There were none, so she sneered with content and marched up to the stage, neglecting to take a paper from Ms. Darbus.

"Sharpay, my dear, your paper?" Ms. Darbus waved the lyrics in the air.

"Oh, no worries, Ms. Darbus, I know it by heart," she stated, firing a quick glance at Taylor observing from the front row. "Just tell me what line to stop at."

Most teachers would have been more than slightly ruffled by the controlling tone in Sharpay's voice, but Ms. Darbus was used to the antics by now and didn't bother with arguing.

Scanning the paper, she replied to Sharpay, "Stop at the first 'over the moon' after the 'got-to's.'"

"Will do," winked Sharpay. _Good, at least I'll have some notes to hit when Elsie sings. That'll teach the science geek who runs the theater around here,_ she thought.

Turning to Kelsi, she demanded, "Be ready with the music." Kelsi meekly nodded in acknowledgement.

Sharpay began by clicking the cowbell with her drumstick:

:click:  
'_Last night, I had a dream  
__I found myself in a desert called: Cyberland  
__It was hot, my canteen had sprung a leak and I was :gasp: thirsty._

_Out of the abyss walked a cow, Elsie  
__I asked if she had anything to drink  
__She said, "IIIIII'm forbiddeeen, to produce... milk_ (Sharpay grabbed her left breast)  
_In Cyberlaaaand we only drink  
_:click:  
_DIET COKE (diet coke diet coke)." _(Sharpay circled her hips to the echo)

_She said, "Only thing to do is jump oooover the moooon  
_(Sharpay jumped at the word 'jump' and rose her arms over her head like the moon at 'moon')  
_They clooosed everything real down  
Like barns and troughs and perfooormance spaceees  
And replaced it aaaall with lies and rules and  
_:click:  
_Virtual life (life life life). _(Sharpay started doing robot-moves to the echo, fitting of Maureen's outlandish performance)

_But there is a way out  
__(leap of faith, leap of faith)  
__OOOoooooo  
__Only thing to do is jump oooover the moooon_

(Sharpay's voice changed to more of a singing-while-shouting tone, her body flailing throughout the monologue)  
_IIIIIIIIIII've gotta get out of here  
__It's like I'm being tied to the hood of a yellow rental truck  
__Packed in with fertilizer, and fuel oil  
__Pushed over a cliff by a suicidal Mickey Mouse  
__III've got to got to got to got to got to got to got to got to got to got to got to got to got to...  
_(pauses for comedic effect)  
_Got to got to find a waaay  
__To jump oooover the moooon'_

Sharpay was still trying to see straight after shaking her entire upper body violently up and down with the 15 "got-to's". However, her ears were perfectly fine, and they were pleased to hear applause from the crowd. Maureen's monologue is not an easy task to complete. Sure, anyone could recite it, but not everyone could make as convincing a Maureen as Sharpay did.

When Sharpay's vision returned to normal, she found that Taylor was the first face her eyes roamed to. It was hard to decipher from the stage, but it looked almost as if Taylor gave her a nod of approval. _As if SHE has the grounds to think that I'M acceptable to work with? Please, she's gonna have to bring it if she wants to play with the big girls._

Breaking eye contact with Taylor, she turned to look at her brother, who was on his feet happily cheering his sister on. _Ugh, now he's even clapping like a girl_, she thought. Sticking her nose in the air, she smiled as the clapping quieted.

"Magnificent performance, as usual, Miss Evans. Always a cut above!" Ms. Darbus praised. "You know it takes a special person to make a convincing Maureen, and you've got that extra something," Ms. Darbus hinted with a wink, implying that the part was Sharpay's regardless of the rest of auditions.

Sharpay winked back and beamed as if she had just won the Nobel Peace Prize, acting as if she had no idea that she would perform the monologue so well. Walking back to her seat with a pompous bounce in her step, she stole a quick glance at Taylor simply so she could flip her hair over her shoulder in an act of defiance. What she was defying, she didn't really know, but something inside her told her to do that. She could almost hear Taylor seething in her seat, so it was mission accomplished, she guessed.

Ms. Darbus emerged from behind her desk and held out the audition signup sheet and some handwritten notes in front of her.

Looking out to the students, she began, "Thus concludes the individual auditions. We will begin the duets and ensembles momentarily. Those songs will be performed either in their entirety or in excerpts; the 2 minute rule does not apply here. Now, as we had no one audition for Benjamin Coffin III or Tom Collins, I would like to start off the second act of try-outs with 'I'll Cover You,' a duet between Tom Collins and Angel Schunard. Ryan Evans, you will be Angel. Now for Collins-"

"-I'll be Collins!" Chad blurted out, stopping Ms. Darbus mid-sentence. He had finally finished his dinner in peace and was walking down the aisle when Darbus started talking, but he practically leaped 10 rows forward in one bound to end up right in front of her. He was breathing a little heavy from his sudden burst forward, but he looked at Ms. Darbus with a decisive tone in his eyes.

"Very well then," Ms. Darbus continued after studying the look upon Chad's face. "Chad Danforth will be Collins in this duet."

At this announcement, a slight smile crept across Chad's face. He locked eyes with Ryan, who he could tell looked slightly unsettled at Chad's eagerness to duet. _Oh yeah_, thought Chad, _he knows this is payback_. Ryan just kept staring, never once breaking eye contact with Chad as he joined him on stage.

As they stood only a foot apart facing each other, Ryan mouthed silently to Chad, "Don't screw this up," to which Chad replied with a wink and mouthed back, "I'll cover you." Rather than reassuring Ryan, that response only made him more worried. Ryan struggled to focus as the music started playing.

Ryan began to sing his part, never moving from the spot he was standing on.  
'_Live in my house,  
__I'll be your shelter  
__Just pay me back,  
__With one thousand kisses  
__Be my loveeer,  
__And I'll cover youuuuuuu'_

Chad took a step toward a motionless Ryan and began to sing his verse.  
'_Open your door,  
__I'll be your tenant,  
__Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet'  
_Chad drew his right hand in a sweeping motion toward Ryan's feet, and then leaned in a little closer.  
'_But sweet kisses I've got to spaaare'  
_Chad reached out and grabbed both of Ryan's hands, with a devilish gleam in his eyes that seemed to taunt "gotcha!"  
'_I'll be theeere,  
__And I'll cover you'_

It was now time for the first verse of harmonizing between Ryan and Chad. One hand each still linked together because Chad wouldn't let go on purpose and Ryan didn't want to look as jittery as he felt inside, they took a few steps together, Chad's eyes still fixed on a Ryan that was looking away, and sang:  
'_I think they meant it when  
__They said you can't buy love  
__Now I know you can rent it'  
_Chad grabbed Ryan's free hand again and turned him so they were face to face again. As he stared into Ryan's eyes, Chad realized that Ryan's gaze was soft, almost earnest.  
'_A new lease you are my love'  
_Unconsciously, Chad softened his own gaze, which had previously been hard and challenging with a shimmer of the devil.  
'_On liiife- be my liiiiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiife'_

The interlude of music played, and in unison, the boys started to dance together, Chad twirling Ryan as they drew their bodies closer and pushed back further. Both had seen the movie and knew this was the part where the two would dance, but neither of them expected that dancing with the other would come off looking so naturally, rather than awkward like they thought.

As the dancing interlude came to a close, Chad knew he couldn't back down from the challenge he had set for himself, which was to really top everything Ryan had done to him all day. He took a deep breath before they began singing in unison again and placed his hands on Ryan's waist. Ryan's voice hitched in surprise and missed the first word, but together they sang the rest of the verse:  
'_Just slip me on  
__I'll be your blanket  
__Wherever-whatever-  
__I'll be your coat'_

Ryan overcame the shock of the performance so far and finally enabled himself to retaliate. At his line, he reached up and light as a feather, he touched Chad's nose, singing:  
'_You'll be my king,  
__And I'll be your castle' _

Chad was nearly taken aback that Ryan was launching an offensive again, so as he began his line, he spun Ryan and faced him away, then wrapped his arms around his waist.  
'_No you'll be my queen  
__And I'll be your moat' _

Ryan stayed exactly how Chad had put him in an act of concession. He knew Chad had just won, period. All there was left to do was to keep everything the same and finish the number the way it had started. Together, they continued:  
'_I think they meant it  
__When they said you can't buy love  
__Now I know you can rent it  
__A new lease you are my love'  
_Chad recognized that Ryan had conceded, so in an act of nobility, he turned him so they were face to face again, but still held both his hands. They couldn't just stop acting right before the most intense part of the song.  
'_On liiiife- all my liiiiiiiiife  
__I've longed to discover something as true as this iiiiiis' _

Chad: (Ryan:)  
'_So with a thousand sweet kisses (If you're cold and you're lonely)  
__I'll cover you  
__With a thousand sweet kisses (You've got one nickel only)  
__I'll cover you (With a thousand sweet kisses)  
__When you're worn (I'll cover you)  
__Out and tired (With a thousand sweet kisses)  
__When your heart has expired (I'll cover you)'_

Still swaying back and forth in unison, they closed strong together, never losing eye contact except when singing the overly emphatic 'yeah'.  
'_Oooooooh lover I'll cover you, yeahhhhhhhhhh  
__Ooooooooooh looover I'll cover youuuuuu'_

The song ended, and neither Chad nor Ryan had realized how close they were until that exact point. Quickly releasing Ryan's hands, Chad turned to face the audience and immediately started flushing a deep crimson. Ryan also looked nervously out toward the crowd, turning more of a pinkish color. Each boy could still feel the electricity running through his body, though that fact was unknown to the other. It was very clear that the intensity of the duet had translated to the crowd as well, revealed through dropped jaws and wide eyes. The auditorium was silent until Ms. Darbus cleared her throat and spoke.

"Boys... that level of acting I believe is unprecedented here at East High" she breathed, and started to wildly clap her hands. The rest of the students present began to clap as well, although they were still stunned at the performance put on by Chad and Ryan.

Ms. Darbus continued on with her praise, "It was truly amazing how you two just became your characters, you were not Chad Danforth and Ryan Evans, you were Tom Collins and Angel Schunard brought to life! The acting... it was just... you have rendered me speechless. Take that as the highest compliment you could ever receive from me. Especially you, Mr. I-live-for-basketball Danforth."

Both boys simply nodded and moved to return to their respective seats. Chad flopped down next to a confused-looking Troy.

"What was that about?" whispered Troy.

Chad returned to his former self and a wide grin spread across his face.

"Dude," he said, "Relax. I was getting Evans back good for something he said to me earlier. It was all acting. Besides," he added triumphantly, "I auditioned for Mark. Now that I proved I can sing, dance, and act, she's gotta give us Mark and Roger. Like I said, all acting."

A grin split across Troy's face now too. "Niiice," he agreed, engaging Chad in a fist pound.

Chad felt eyes on him and quickly turned around, only to notice Ryan quickly turning his head away. The way he felt during the number all came rushing back to him, and he felt the tips of his ears get hot again. Agitated, he repeated over and over in his head, _It was all acting. It was all acting. It was all acting... God it's got to be all acting._


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: I am sooo sorry (x135) that I didn't get this chapter written as soon as I would have liked to. I was supermega busy all weekend and barely touched my computer, then I went back to working full time again on Monday. But hey, at least this is my last week of work for the summer, which hopefully translates to me having more time to write this thing before the semester starts at the end of August.

And once again, thank you so much for the reviews, they definitely keep me motivated to keep writing this for you all. Oh and don't hesitate to pm me with any questions or just to chat... I get bored easily and would love someone to talk to ;o)

Finally! Chapter 8! And I apologize that the songs take up so much space, but they're duets!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 8

"Troy Bolton!"

Troy snapped his head toward Ms. Darbus, who had just yelled out his name, yet was not looking at him.

Now glancing up from her auditions paper, she continued, "You will be performing in the 'Light My Candle' duet as Roger. Mimi will be Miss Montez."

Gabriella turned herself away from her conversation with Taylor upon hearing her last name. She looked from Ms. Darbus over to Troy, who had also just turned his head to look at her. Upon eyes meeting, they both flushed a little pink on their cheeks and smiled. Quickly, they turned away and faced Ms. Darbus again.

"You may join me on the stage any time now," Ms. Darbus said with a chuckle.

Troy and Gabriella quickly emerged from their seats, Gabriella leaving her parka behind. Troy swallowed hard, twice, knowing that just a few steps behind him, Gabriella was climbing the stairs to join him in a duet on stage in that sexy black outfit of hers. And he was going to have to look into her dark, smoldering eyes and sing to her. Trying to focus himself, he thought _I can't think about my friends like that. That's what she said she wanted. Friends._ He briefly reminisced back to that fateful evening, but Ms. Darbus' voice shattered his thought process and brought him back.

"To conserve on time, I would like you two to start the duet when Mimi knocks for the second time. You know, where she looks for her 'stash'," Ms. Darbus requested, bringing back the air-quotes. Handing Gabriella her pencil, she said, "Here, pretend this is your candle," and then returned to her seat.

Clutching the pencil as if it were a candle, Gabriella moved to the right side of the stage to simulate her coming through the door at the beginning of the song. Kelsi would cue the knock, which would begin the duet.

Troy:  
'_It blew out again?'  
_Gabriella:  
'_No - I think that I dropped my stash'_

Gabriella got on her hands and knees, pretending to search for the stash on the floor.  
Troy:  
'_I know I've seen you out and about  
__When I used to go out  
__Your candle's out'_

Gabriella rose to her feet again, looking at Troy yet walking away from him, singing:  
'_I'm illin' -  
__I had it when I walked in the door  
__It was pure -  
__Is it on the floor?'_

At the word 'floor' she dropped on her hands and knees again pretending to search, this time making sure she was facing away from Troy and arching her body so her backside stuck up higher than the rest of her body.  
Troy:  
'_The floor?'  
_Gabriella:  
'_They say that I have the best ass below 14th street  
__Is it true?'  
_Troy:  
'_What?'  
_Gabriella:  
'_You're staring again'  
_Troy:  
'_Oh no  
__I mean you do -- have a nice --'  
__I mean -- You look familiar'_

Gabriella stood up again, walking slowly past Troy back to the right side of the stage again and continued:  
'_Like your dead girlfriend'?  
_Troy:  
'_Only when you smile  
__But I'm sure I've seen you somewhere else --'  
_Gabriella:  
'_Do you go to the Cat Scratch Club  
__That's where I work - I dance - help me look'_

Gabriella dropped to her knees a third time upon the word 'look.'  
Troy:  
'_Yes!  
__They used to tie you up -'  
_Gabriella:  
'_It's a living'  
_Troy:  
'_I didn't recognize you  
__Without the handcuffs'_

Having turned to face Troy during her previous line, Gabriella held out the pencil toward him, slowly rising to her feet, looking him in the eye with a sultry gaze the entire time, singing:  
'_We could light the candlllllle  
__Oh won't you light the candlllllllle'  
_Troy:  
'_Why don't you forget that stuff  
__You look like you're sixteen'_

Gabriella walked past Troy again, this time looking seductively back over her shoulder to respond:  
'_I'm nineteen - but I'm old for my age  
__I'm just born to be bad'  
_Troy:  
'_I once was born to be bad  
__I used to shiver like that'_

Gabriella turned around to face her whole body toward him again.  
'_I have no heat - I told you'  
_Troy:  
'_I used to sweat'  
_Gabriella:  
'_I got a cold'  
_Troy:  
'_Uh huh  
__I used to be a junkie'_

Gabriella turned and slowly faced away again as she sang:  
'_But now and then I like to --'  
_Troy:  
'_Uh huh'  
_Gabriella:  
'_Feel good'_

Troy bent down, pretending to pick something up while Gabriella's back was turned.  
'_Oh here it--'_

Gabriella, whipping around and approaching him, sang:  
'_What's that?'  
_Troy:  
'_Candy bar wrapper'_

Gabriella placed herself a foot away from Troy, holding up the pencil and staring into his eyes once more.  
'_We could light the candllllle  
__Oh what'd you do with my candlllllle?'  
_Troy:  
'_That was my last match'  
_Gabriella:  
'_Our eyes'll adjust, thank God for the moon'  
_Troy:  
'_Maybe it's not the moon at all  
__I hear Spike Lee's shooting down the street'  
_Gabriella:  
'_Bah humbug ... Bah humbug'_

Troy took Gabriella's hands in his. Though they were warm and soft, the line called for him to sing:  
'_Cold hands'  
_Gabriella:  
'_Yours too.  
__Big. Like my father's  
__You wanna dance?'  
_Troy:  
'_With you?'  
_Gabriella:  
'_No - with my father'  
_Troy:  
'_I'm Roger'_

The two drew together as if they were really slow dancing. Gabriella locked her eyes onto Troy's and slipped her left hand into his back pocket, singing:  
'_They call me  
__They call me  
__Mimiiiiiiiiiiiii'_

Gabriella pulled her hand out of Troy's pocket and held her fist up in the air, turning to the audience as if she had successfully retrieved her stash. The music ended and the crowd was cheering at how well acted and comical the performance was. Gabriella turned around and looked at Troy, who was bright red and grinning sheepishly. Seeing his flushed face made her blush as well. She turned quickly back toward the crowd again and smiled in spite of herself.

"Absolutely magnificent, you two! What chemistry you have on the stage together," gushed Ms. Darbus.

Troy glanced sideways at Gabriella, still red and still smiling, as he walked past her to return to his seat in the audience. Gabriella followed behind him and returned to her own seat next to Taylor, who was giving her a knowing look. Gabriella blushed even deeper upon noticing Taylor, then sat down and tried not to look at her or at Troy.

Troy sat in his seat in a bit of a daze, spaced out staring at nothing. Chad slapped his arm to knock him out of it and then shot him a look.

"What?" Troy replied with a slightly annoyed undertone. "Like you should be the one to judge with the way you've been acting today."

Chad frowned and faced the stage, where Ms. Darbus had called students up to perform the title song, "Rent." Since Troy and Chad had both engaged in a duet no longer than 10 minutes before, they were not called upon to perform in the ensemble. Instead, Jason was on stage to perform as Mark and the freshman boy that they didn't know the name of was asked to give Roger a try. Zeke would be performing as Benny, and then those students that had wanted a spot in the chorus were also all on stage singing either various small parts or just with the chorus.

Troy and Chad sat in silence during the performance, cooling off from being annoyed with each other. But that didn't mean they both weren't on fire inside for other reasons. Troy kept stealing glances at Gabriella, who was enjoying herself watching the audition. Chad was trying to nonchalantly look sideways in an attempt to catch Ryan staring at him again. Though by the end of the song Troy and Chad had simmered and were good with each other again, they were still flustered from their respective duets.

Jason, Zeke, and the rest of the performers exited the stage amidst compliments from Ms. Darbus on how well they all meshed with no prior experience together. She looked down at her list one final time for the evening, as the next would be the last duet.

"Now I know it has been a long afternoon for you all, but it has certainly been productive," started Ms. Darbus. "We have reached our last duet. Closing out the auditions performing 'Take Me or Leave Me' will be Sharpay Evans as Maureen and Taylor McKessie as Joanne," she finished with a warm smile and clapped her hands silently.

Both Sharpay and Taylor shot their heads around, glaring at the other. Simultaneously, they rose from their seats and met in the middle before heading up the stairs to the stage together.

"You think you're a big deal because you put on one decent performance? Better be ready for the A-list this time," Sharpay warned in a low voice that only Taylor could hear.

"Just because you've been the Drama Queen for years doesn't mean you can't be dethroned... again," Taylor shot back, in a voice equally as quiet.

Sharpay's eyes were shooting daggers now.

"Gotta watch out for us science chicks," Taylor retorted.

_She is SO done! _thought a furious Sharpay. _She better be ready to eat those words, cuz I'm coming at her full-force Maureen style!_

On the stage, Sharpay and Taylor stood 3 feet apart, just glaring with blazing eyes. They didn't know why they had that effect on each other, but they both knew this was going to be one hell of a performance with the way they were feeling at this given moment. The familiar music started to play, and Sharpay began singing her long solo right on cue:

'_Every single day  
__I walk down the street  
__I hear people say,  
__"Baaaaby's so sweet"  
__Ever since puberty  
__Everybody stares at me  
__Boys - girls  
__I can't help it baaaaaby'_

Sharpay ran her right hand down the left cheek of a statuesque, seething Taylor, and afterwards took Taylor's head in both her hands.  
'_So be kind  
__Don't lose your mind  
__Just remember that I'm your baaaabyyyy'_

Grabbing both of Taylor's hands, she interlocked their fingers and gracefully moved them around in time with the music, singing:  
'_Take me for what I aaaaam  
__Who I was meant to beeeeee  
__Aaaaand if you give a daaaaamn  
__Take me, baby, or leave me'_

Sharpay released Taylor's hands and circled around her, turning back around to face her again, making emphatic gestures while singing:  
'_Take me, baby, or leave me_

_A tiger in a cage  
__Can never see the sun  
__This diva needs her stage  
__Baaaby - let's have fun!  
__You are the one I choooose  
__Folks'd kill to fill your shoes  
__You love the limelight too, baaaaaaby  
__So be mine  
__Or don't waste my tiiiiiime  
__Cryin' - "Honeybear - are you still my, my babyyyy?"_

_Take me foooor what I aaaaaam  
__Who I was meant to beeeee  
__Aaand if yooou give a daaamn  
__Take me, baby, or leave me'_

At this point, Sharpay spread her legs apart, bending at the knees. She then placed her hands on her knees and moved both her shoulders and hips around seductively.  
'_No waaaay - can I be what I'm not  
__But hey - don't you want your girl hot!'_

Sharpay stood up again and marched toward Taylor, hands raised, pointing at her.  
'_Don't fight - don't lose your head  
__Cause every night - who's in your beeeeeed? Who?'_

She then shuffled quickly over so she was only a foot away. She leaned her head in playfully, singing:  
'_Whoooo's in your beeeed?  
__Kiss, Pookie?'_

It was finally the time for Taylor to retaliate. She could tell Sharpay had not just been simply singing the lines. The way she was acting and the fire in her eyes suggested otherwise. Sharpay had been singing those words at her deliberately. Taylor stood up straighter and held her arms out in an attempt to look more ominous, starting:  
'_It won't work  
__I look before I leap  
__I love margins and discipline  
__I make lists in my sleep  
__Baaaaaby what's my sin?  
__Never quit - I follow through  
__I hate mess - but I loooove you  
__What to do  
__With my impromptu baaaabyyy  
__So be wise  
__This girl satisfiiiiiiies  
__You've got a prize  
__But don't compromise  
__You're one lucky baaaabyyyyy_

_Take me fooooooor what I am'_

Sharpay turned her back slightly toward Taylor, who was still basically singing at her face. She folded her arms, and even though the next lines were all straight from the song, she meant every word she said, so she sang with conviction:  
'_A control freak'  
_Taylor:  
'_Whooo I was meant to be'  
_Sharpay:  
'_A snob - yet over-attentive'  
_Taylor:  
'_And if youuu giiive a daaamn'  
_Sharpay:  
'_A lovable, droll geek'  
_Taylor:  
'_Take me, babyyy, or leave me'  
_Sharpay:  
'_And anal retentive!'_

Taylor grabbed Sharpay's shoulder roughly and spun her around as they both sang:  
'_That's iiiiiiit!'  
_Taylor:  
'_The straw that breaks my back'  
_Both:  
'_I quiiiiiiit'  
_Taylor:  
'_Unless you taaake it back'  
_Both:  
'_Womeeeeeeen'  
_Sharpay:  
'_Whaaaaat is it about theeem?'  
_Both:  
'_Can't live -  
__With them -  
__Or without theeeeeeeem!'_

Taylor and Sharpay were now inches from each other's faces, eyes glaring dangerously.  
'_Take me for what I aaaaaaaaaam  
__Who I was meant to beeeeee  
__And if you giiiiive a daaamn  
__Take me, baby, or leave me  
__Take me babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'_

Sharpay turned away dramatically as they sang:  
'_Or leave me_

_Guess I'm leavin'  
__I'm gone!'_

Both girls were as beet red as Troy and Gabriella had been after their performance, but neither was embarrassed. Instead, Taylor and Sharpay each had a sort of wild blaze in her eyes that spread to her face, ignited from the heated argument contained within the song. If it seemed like they were fighting while singing, it was because they were. Taylor knew that Sharpay didn't think much of Taylor wanting to act, and Sharpay knew that Taylor didn't think much of respecting the Drama Queen's status over the rest of them. Each was infuriated that the other neither understood nor intended to understand where she was coming from. Both stormed off the stage amid praise from Ms. Darbus and the audience, though neither of them paid any attention to it.

Sharpay plopped down into the seat next to her brother, arms crossed. Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but Sharpay shot him a glare so icy that his mouth froze, leaving him with a dumb expression on his face. After a moment he closed his mouth and turned to face the stage again.

Taylor, in the meantime, had not returned to her seat. Instead, she locked eyes with Chad, giving him a look that said "come with me" as she continued to charge her way out of the auditorium. Chad, still flustered from replaying the duet with Ryan over and over in his head, rose from his seat and followed her out, jogging to catch up to a hastily-walking Taylor. He caught up to her as they rounded a corner in the hallway. Taylor spun around to face Chad, whose eyes reflected the same passionate gleam seen in Taylor's own.

Without any further hesitation, their lips came crashing together furiously. Tongues battling for control, Taylor shoved Chad up against the nearby locker. After a moment, they pulled away and looked into each other's eyes again.

"Nothing," whispered Taylor in mild surprise.

The raging fires dancing on their retinas mere moments ago had been extinguished. Both had been so worked up and frustrated over auditioning and over an Evans that they though they wanted nothing more at that point than to just ravage each other... but...

"Nothing," Chad stated in a more concrete tone.

Taylor took a half-step back, though Chad still had his hands on her hips.

"So does this mean..." Taylor started.

Chad removed his hands from her waist and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Still friends though, right?" Taylor asked in a slightly nervous tone. Just because they weren't going to be together anymore didn't mean she wanted to lose his friendship.

Chad's face split into a grin. "Only the best of!" he said sincerely. He knew things would remain pretty much as they were before, except now there was no pressure to appear affectionate in front of people.

His declaration made Taylor smile in relief. "Well then whatcha say we go back to the auditorium, Mr. Big Dumb Jock?" she suggested with a wicked grin.

Chad, after gasping and pretending to be hurt, chuckled and replied, "Whatever you say, Little Miss Smarty-pants."

He put his arm around her shoulder in a friendly gesture and they walked back to the auditorium with huge smiles on their faces, relieved that the stalemate was finally over. They returned in time to catch the tail end of Ms. Darbus' end-of-auditions speech.

"And so," finished Ms. Darbus, "the cast list will be posted tomorrow morning precisely 10 minutes before homeroom. Don't bother coming in early, it won't be up yet, I promise. Thank you all once again for your time and your incredible effort this evening. Have a safe trip home, everyone!"

Still at the back of the auditorium, Chad removed his arm from Taylor and walking backwards down the aisle for a few steps, he called back earnestly, "Sorry to run, I gotta get my stuff quick. Troy is giving me a ride home. See you tomorrow!" He turned around and jogged the rest of the way to his stuff, as Taylor casually strolled down the aisle, shaking her head and laughing to herself.

Though both appeared outwardly happy, their insides were still in turmoil. Knowing the source, Chad and Taylor each discreetly glanced at their respective Evans twin, neither of whom were aware of the eyes on them, and thought simultaneously, _What do you do to me?_


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: I know, I know, I took too long to post... I'm working on it, I swear! But next time, while you wait, check out this TaylorxSharpay my story inspired: "And With A Kiss, The Walls Came Crashing Down," by EndlessDreamer1024. Not only is it a good read, but mentioning my story in hers can only result in a returned favor ;o)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 9

"Chad Danforth, Chad Danforth, Chad Danforth," he muttered as he scrolled his finger down the cast list searching for his own name.

"Chad Danforth, ahh, Chad Danfor- TOM COLLINS!" Chad's voice rose from a mutter to a near scream.

He shot a pleading look at his best friend Troy Bolton, who had been silently standing next to him searching for his own name on the cast list, which was of course prominently at the top of the list with the words 'Roger Davis' next to it.

"Yeah, that's what it says, bro," Troy confirmed with a shrug.

"But I-I can't... It's just- I mean," Chad stammered, trying to form an argument.

"You can't play someone as smart as an M.I.T. kick-out?" Ryan, as enigmatic as ever, had once again performed his usual trick of materializing out of thin air at the exact moment that Chad didn't want him to. With a silly smirk, he added, "Yeah, that's definitely a bit of a stretch for you."

"Well, lucky you. Playing someone as flaming as Angel isn't a stretch for you at all," Chad shot back. At this rate, it was going to be a long day.

Ryan, ever the Drama Queen himself, emphatically feigned being hurt at Chad's words. He was immune to all the gay jokes by now and had learned ways to spin them back upon his offender. This one was handed to him on a silver platter.

"Hmm," he pretended to think out loud, "I could come back with that Angel quote, you know, the one about being more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get, but that would be too easy now, wouldn't it?" Ryan grinned, looking extremely smug.

Chad, not ready to give in quite yet, squinted his eyes and reached out, pinching Ryan's cheeks and tugging a little.

"Sharpay, is that you? You can take off the Ryan mask now, everyone knows you're the only one that frigid," Chad said with a completely straight face, but a twinkle in his eye.

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much. Now either move or evaporate so I can see my name in print," demanded Sharpay, as she appeared and shoved herself between the bantering Chad and Ryan on her way to read the cast list.

"Ooo, I got Maureeeeen!" squealed Sharpay, jumping up and down and doing a little celebratory clap with her fingertips to congratulate herself.

"Oh, as if you didn't already know," countered an unimpressed Taylor, who had just arrived for her turn to look at the cast list, Gabriella by her side. "You were the only one to even audition for Maureen."

Sharpay spun around and shot Taylor a quizzical glance. "Don't ruin my moment," she stated, and then giddily walked off to homeroom with Ryan in tow.

Taylor and Gabriella shared a confused look, and then proceeded to the cast list. Gabriella scanned the list for her name, and upon finding it, she couldn't help but to smile.

"Congratulations," offered Troy, who was leaning against the wall watching Gabriella's reaction to the list with a big grin on his face.

Gabriella turned to him with a grin to match his own. "Thanks, Troy, it's going to be a lot of fun acting with you again," she said with her head cocked ever so slightly, eyes peering up at him.

Were it not for the support of the wall, Troy probably would have melted under her gaze. But he was not about to let anyone know that, so he continued to play it cool.

"Yeah, it is definitely going to be a good time. Especially if you wear that black outfit again," he suggested daringly. He and Gabriella jokingly had these kinds of playful conversations plenty of times, so he wasn't worried about her reading too much into his statement, even if he did actually kinda sorta mean it.

It took all of Gabriella's willpower not to let her legs turn to jelly and not to blush. That much effort and the real school day hadn't even begun. As much as Troy's statement appealed to her, she joked back with a raised eyebrow, "Well perhaps that could be arranged." _Perhaps? Who am I kidding?_ she thought to herself devilishly, hardly waiting to get Troy alone for rehearsal.

Troy did his best not to look overly ecstatic about the possibility, and instead he chuckled, offered his arm to her, and asked, "Shall we proceed to homeroom?"

Gabriella linked her arm with his and smiled up at him, replying, "We shall."

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With two minutes left before homeroom, Jason Cross and Zeke Baylor nearly strutted into Ms. Darbus' classroom. With a wide grin on his face, Jason took his seat behind Taylor and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Looks like we're gonna have a duet," he stated, obviously pleased with himself.

Turning around, Taylor smiled at the boy and fed his ego. "Congratulations on landing Mark, Jason."

Jason grinned even wider and leaned back in his seat, placing his hands behind his head, replying, "Why thank you, Taylor." After a moment he noticed Taylor's raised eyebrow and quickly added, "Oh! Congratulations on Joanne!"

Taylor smiled again and shook her head, turning around to face front again. Jason could be so clueless sometimes. Meanwhile, Zeke had made a pit stop on his way to his seat. He squatted down in between Troy's and Chad's desks so he could talk to both of his buddies.

"So guess what I get to do as Benny," a smirking Zeke challenged.

Troy and Chad looked at each other but neither felt like guessing, so Troy simply asked, "What?"

"I get to see Maureen's 'lady lumps'," replied Zeke with a dirty grin.

Troy and Chad looked at each other again. This time Chad, still in a mood from learning what role he was cast in, spoke first.

"First of all, please never use the phrase 'lady lumps' ever again in your life," he started in exasperation.

"And second of all," finished Troy, "Darbus would never actually have Sharpay moon you, cuz, ya know, this is a high school musical, and she's underage and all."

A look of disappointment befell Zeke's face. He hadn't thought about that. Even after Sharpay used him for his ability to make her delicious baked goods, that didn't change the fact that he still thought she was hot. He knew the famous scene in 'La Vie Boheme' would be the closest he'd ever get to hitting that, and now his plan was shattered by the law. Oh well.

After a moment of thought, Zeke added, "Well maybe she'll at least bend over. That works for me." With that, he made his way to his homeroom seat.

As the bell rang, Ms. Darbus entered her homeroom with a smile. It would be a few minutes before the morning announcements came on over the P.A., so she thought she would address her students. Glancing around, she realized something.

"Well would you look at this. All eight of my leads are in my very own homeroom. I guess the administration did something right for once, giving me all the talent," she noted with a wink. Her students beamed back up at her.

"Since the eight of you are here, I'll let you know right now what I want you to do for the week so you can get started during your free period today," Ms. Darbus informed them.

"I want you to spend the rest of the week getting in touch with your characters. Study your songs, your parts, and start to feel what your character feels, be your character. Don't worry about getting together with singing partners, we'll start that next week. For now, focus on just yourself. There will be no need to stay after school and practice in the auditorium with the ensemble, just go home and practice there. Your next required practice will be Saturday morning, 9:00 AM sharp."

Right on cue, the morning announcements echoed through the room. The students sat in silence, waiting patiently for the end. After the sign-off, everyone grabbed his or her stuff and scurried from Ms. Darbus' room to his or her first period class. Everyone, that is, except for Chad, who hung back.

Cautiously, he approached Ms. Darbus' desk. "Umm, Ms. Darbus," he began.

She held up her hand. "Say no more, Mr. Danforth, I know where you're going with this. Let's see if I can put some perspective on the situation. It is about my casting you as Tom Collins, correct?"

Chad, with his head down, quietly nodded in agreement.

"I figured I would be hearing from you about this. How you auditioned for Mark, and how I praised you so highly for a job well done. The truth is, Chad, you were too good for Mark," Ms. Darbus stated.

Chad looked up at her with eyebrows raised in surprise.

She continued cryptically, "Sometimes what you think you want is not what the theatre knows you want."

Chad's expression changed from surprise to confusion.

"Let me explain," she conceded. "Consider the character of Mark. Barely an adult, trying to make it in the world with no money and a whimsical dream of becoming a filmmaker. Through him we achieve a general narration of the story. He helps it unfold. Seems important, right?"

Chad once again nodded in agreement.

"Now think about the character of Tom Collins. Kicked out of M.I.T., has AIDS, meets a transvestite on the street, falls in love. Doesn't seem so important, yes?"

For a third time, Chad nodded.

"And that is where you are wrong, my dear. Think about RENT and the true heart of the story. Now think about the characters and their relationships. What gives the musical its drive?"

Chad bit his lip as he thought about what Ms. Darbus was relaying to him.

"See where I'm going with this? The relationship between Angel and Collins is the glue of this musical. Without the two of them, no matter how much of a supporting role they may seem to play, their uninhibited love for each other inspired the change in and direction of all the other characters. Without them, the play is nothing."

Chad felt a pang of guilt inside as her words hit their mark.

"And then... watching you up on stage with Ryan, I could just feel the energy, the electricity flowing throughout the number. The theatre does not lie, my dear, and it was screaming from all rooftops that you, Chad Danforth, must be my Tom Collins." She paused for a moment, and then added, "And I trust you will do very well."

Chad smiled softly at her and humbly replied, "Thank you, Ms. Darbus. For everything."

"You're welcome, Mr. Danforth," she responded, fully understanding the context of the 'everything' to which he referred.

The first period bell rang. Chad was officially late for class. And he did not care.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Wow, you guys reviewed that last chapter mad quick! And this must be your lucky week cuz I've already got Chapter 10 here done only 2 days after Chapter 9 was published. Sorry that I can't always write this fast.

By the way, now that the songfic-y auditions section is complete, your feedback is as important as ever so I know that I'm heading in a good direction with the story. So keep it up! I always consider what you all have to say. For instance, Celestial Pendent asked if the story would contain some JasonxKelsi, and after I thought about it, I figured why the hell not? That relationship will take a bit of a back seat to the others, but I'll throw it in there nonetheless. What's another subplot gonna hurt?

I'd also like to shout-out to Mimi, who I've been chatting with online almost daily now, thanks to ffnet. If you wanna talk to me too, don't be shy, send a pm!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 10

Surprisingly for everyone, the rest of the school day seemed to breeze on by. Energized by the excitement of the cast list, the nuances of a typical school day disappeared out of their lives. Just like the day before auditions, singing and humming of RENT songs could be heard ringing through the hallways, down the stairwells, and in the bathrooms. Lunchtime would be the next instance where all eight leads were in the same vicinity of one another, though Sharpay and Ryan ate on the upper level of the cafeteria, looking down upon most of the rest of the school. If one was to look down, they would see, at a table almost immediately below, Troy and Gabriella sitting side by side. To Gabriella's right, one would find Taylor, and to Troy's left, one would find Chad. Across from Troy and Gabriella was Zeke, and next to him was an empty seat, normally occupied by Jason.

"Hey there, Ex-Girlfriend," said Jason with a goofy grin on his face as he slid into the uninhabited seat between Sharpay and Kelsi at the drama table upstairs.

Both girls turned to stare at him as he continued to look at Sharpay.

Eyebrows furrowed, Sharpay asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "Why are you breathing my air?"

Not to be discouraged, Jason replied with a smile, "Well I figured since our characters-"

"Yes, Jason, our characters dated, not us," Sharpay cut off. "I know you get easily confused, so don't hurt yourself thinking about it."

Jason held his hands up in defeat with a slight pout on his face and pushed his chair back with his feet. Standing up to leave, the corners of his mouth turned up warmly as he gave Kelsi a look which said 'That girl is crazy.' With that, he left to return to his own lunch table down below.

Kelsi's eyes followed him down the stairs to his seat. She sighed to herself. Ever since the afternoon of the basketball championship game, she had developed a bit of a crush on Jason. Troy had handed her the game ball, which she had no clue what to do with. Jason, ever the nice guy, had come up behind her and helped her shoot the ball. That's where it started. Kelsi had been too shy to really work up the nerve to talk to him again after that, especially because Jason was rather outgoing and a bit of a clown at times. Instead, she had to settle for passing moments like this last one.

As Jason took his place next to Zeke, he observed the happenings at the table. Troy and Gabriella were sitting a little closer than usual, completely engrossed in their own private conversation. They were speaking at a decibel in which the rest of the table would think they were included in the conversation, although they were not. Chad and Taylor alternated between watching the two should-be-lovebirds and shaking their heads while shooting comical glances at one another out of sheer amusement thanks to Troy and Gabriella. The conversation had no real direction, but everyone at the table couldn't help but to watch the two interact as if they were the only two people on the planet. Finally, the bell rang and everyone cleared the cafeteria to finish off the school day.

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_Be your character_. It's what Ms. Darbus told them yesterday. The words repeated in the minds of Troy and Gabriella, Sharpay and Ryan, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, and Jason. If they wanted this musical to achieve the powerful impact it was capable of, they had to dig deep and transform themselves. Their mutual hunger for transformation was evident that Thursday morning.

Troy hopped into his father's vehicle feeling very much unlike himself. On days where he felt like sleeping in, he drove to school with his father instead of taking the bus. However, Troy did not have the opportunity to sleep in this morning. Instead, he had to get up even earlier to make himself 'be' Roger Davis. He had cemented himself in front of the bathroom mirror for a good twenty minutes just loading gel into and spiking in clumps his normally well-kept hair. He could feel himself cringing inside the entire time. After blinking hard for the next minute, he finally adjusted to what he saw in the mirror. Smiling to himself, he thought, _Yeah, I can totally pull this off_. He then affixed a magnetic silver ball earring to each earlobe. He had taken a trip after school yesterday to the same Goodwill store Gabriella had gone to earlier in the week, and he came back with three shopping bags full of clothes. This morning, sifting through the assorted vintage rock band t-shirts he had purchased, he settled on a faded black one with a white print of the band The Clash. Pulling on the blue, green, red, and white plaid pants he had also bought, his 'being Roger' outfit was complete.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the vehicle and onto the school grounds. He could see there were many pairs of eyes whose gazes had been diverted to him. To his surprise, most of them were giving him an approving smile, some nodding. Scanning the crowd, he found Zeke and Jason standing together and chatting with a third guy. He made his way over, and as he got closer, he realized that the third guy was actually Chad. All three of his buddies had also chosen to dress the part, and Chad was a startling sight.

"You- your hair!" Troy stammered in surprise.

Chad turned and grinned at him. "And your hair," he replied, gesturing toward Troy.

Chad's famous wild-and-crazy mane had been braided into tight cornrows and was covered by a white knit beanie cap. For his 'being Collins' look, Chad chose to model off of the ensemble worn by Jesse L. Martin in the original Broadway production. He was wearing a dark blue denim button down shirt with a bright orange puffy vest over the top of it.

"And here we have Troy Bolton, expressing great shock over the transformation of his best friend, Chad Danforth!" narrated Jason. He had a camcorder in his hand, a scarf around his neck, and fake glasses upon his face. This was his attempt at 'being Mark.'

"You're not seriously filming this, are you?" asked Troy.

"Oh, but he is," supplied Zeke, who then reached out and turned Jason's camcorder toward himself. "Now how about we get a nice shot of my stylin' threads here."

Zeke popped the collar of his lavender long-sleeved button down and then pointed both his index fingers toward the camera. He was wearing black slacks and shiny black shoes to complete his 'being Benny' outfit.

"Haha, look at those smooth moves," joked Chad. Zeke punched his arm as Chad continued to laugh.

"I have to admit," Troy said, "that I'm really glad you guys took Darbus' 'be your character' statement the same way I did."

Jason lowered his camcorder and shrugged. "Normally I wouldn't do something like this, but now we're part of something bigger than ourselves."

"Right on, man," agreed Chad, giving Jason a high five. Sometimes, Jason actually did have a clue.

The ten minute warning bell rang, so the four boys headed inside to their lockers. On their way through the hallway, they caught sight of Gabriella and Taylor.

"Heyyy, ladies," greeted an outspoken Zeke, obviously influenced by the clothing he was wearing. They turned, and immediately their eyes grew wide with surprise as they gave each of the boys a once-over.

"You guys are awesome," approved Taylor. She was appreciative that their little band of jocks had actually put their hearts into the musical. As for herself, she didn't have much to do to get into 'being Joanne.' She was already a brainiac and a perfectionist. She decided to wear her hair curly in a loose ponytail, but otherwise she was as Joanne as anyone could ever get.

"Well you girls are awesome, too," replied Troy with a rock-star smile, although he was only looking at Gabriella.

Gabriella was only looking at him as well. "Thanks, Troy," she blushed.

Troy couldn't help looking at Gabriella. She was 'being Mimi,' and she looked stunning. She was wearing a little more eyeliner than usual and a darker shade of eye shadow, resulting in a smoky look. She was wearing a black thick-strapped tank top studded with rhinestones that spelled out 'STAR.' She also had on a pair of dark denim capris with the black go-go boots she had worn during auditions. To top off the outfit, she had on a Mimi-esque leopard print sash that was eloquently draped around her hips. She looked like a bad girl, and she was starting to feel like a bad girl. _I guess Ms. Darbus was on the right track when she told us to be our characters_, she thought.

Just then, something internal told Chad to turn around. "Whoa," he said aloud, nodding his head toward the entrance of the school.

He was referring to Ryan Evans, who had just entered the building wearing eye makeup that was a near replica of Gabriella's.

"Check out Evans," he continued. He wasn't about to admit it aloud, but the look was actually good on Ryan. Contrasting with the dark eyes was a tight white fitted t-shirt and matching white fitted slacks. The one-inch platform shoes were also the same immaculate white. While 'being Angel' he almost looked like an angel.

"Who's the hot chick he's walking with?" asked Zeke to the group in general. As they squinted their eyes in an attempt to distinguish the identity of the mysterious hot chick, their concentration was broken by Taylor.

"Oh. My. Gosh," she said in breathy, punctuated speech. "That's Sharpay."

Everyone's eyes grew wide with recognition after Taylor made the initial identification.

"She dyed her hair brown!" exclaimed Jason, notoriously the group's Captain Obvious.

Sharpay's long golden locks were now a deep, rich brunette to match her eyes. Her cascading hair was so dark it almost appeared black from a distance, but the hallway lights beamed down upon it, allowing it to shine its truly splendid color. The 'being Maureen' didn't stop there, however. If Ryan looked like an angel, then Sharpay definitely looked like a devil. She was wearing a thick-strapped blood red tank top, much like Gabriella's, with a snaking black dragon in the middle. A pair of black pleather pants clung to her legs, and the outfit was completed with a pair of black stilettos studded with rubies. Sharpay strutted down the hallway with a purpose, even if that purpose was just to exude the fact that she knew she looked good. Her eyes latched onto Taylor's and she gave her a smirk in acknowledgement as she and Ryan passed by the group and continued on to homeroom.

"You can stare as long as you want, but she'll never let you see the horns," Gabriella whispered to Taylor, whose eyes were still following Sharpay.

Taylor felt her ears grow hot in embarrassment that she got caught looking. She played it off the best she could by rolling her eyes at Gabriella and saying, "Ha. Ha. Very funny. C'mon, let's get to homeroom before we're late."

With that, the two girls made their ways to homeroom, with the four boys following close behind. After they had settled into their seats, Ms. Darbus entered the classroom. She placed her hand on her chest and gasped at what she saw.

"I must admit that when I said to 'be your character' I didn't think you'd take me this seriously," she said with a hint of laughter in her voice. The eight leads looked up at her with sheepish grins.

"While I am flattered and truly do appreciate the effort, you certainly don't have to go this all-out tomorrow, unless you really, really want to," she added, noting the looks of relief on several of their faces.

"Yes! No more stockings!" Ryan said to himself, but out loud. Everyone turned to look at him in bewilderment.

"Oops," he muttered, his face flushing noticeably as it contrasted with his pristine outfit. "I said that out loud, didn't I."

"Yes, you did, and I got it on film," announced Jason, jumping out of his seat to run up to Ryan for a close-up.

"Hey, Evans! Why don't you show the camera a little leg?" teased Chad.

Ryan shot him a look, but for some reason unknown, he obliged and lifted his pant leg to reveal a pair of white stockings.

"Wow, and I thought I went all-out," commented Troy. "No more plaid pants for me!"

"Yeah, and tomorrow my boys will run wild and free once more," added Chad, stroking the braids on his head. He had nearly cried at the sight when the braiding was complete yesterday evening.

"Not everyone can undo their hair though," Jason grinned as he panned the camcorder to the newly brunette Sharpay, who immediately snarled into it in annoyance.

"Oh, come off it, Jason," snapped Taylor. "She looks way hotter than you ever will."

No sooner had the words escaped her mouth did she realize she had actually spoken her thought out loud. She could have played it cool, since everyone knew girls call each other hot all the time, but since it was Sharpay of all people that she defended, Taylor entered panic mode instead. Her entire body on fire and desperately seeking a way out, she looked nervously first to Gabriella, then to Chad, and then to Sharpay, who stared back somewhat confused and surprised. Suddenly, the morning announcements crackled through room, drawing the attention away from Taylor. Saved, she exhaled and placed her head on her desk as she thought, _Why did I have to say that out loud?_


	12. Chapter 11

A/N pt. 1: First and foremost, I want to sincerely apologize for not posting a chapter in well over a week. I do have a legitimate excuse though: my laptop was in the shop getting repaired all week, and my entire life, including everything having to do with this story, is on it. It was killing me not having it all week and not being able to work on this story. That said, I would like to thank you all for reading everything so far and reviewing me over 200! That's just freakin' awesome. My laptop is back, so Chapter 11 is finally here.

And make sure you read the A/N pt. 2 at the end of the chapter... you won't be sorry!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 11

As the morning announcements drew to a close, Taylor slowly removed her head from her desk to lean over and pick up her backpack, purposely avoiding any sort of eye contact with anyone.

"Miss McKessie!" Ms. Darbus called out over the bustle of the class gathering their belongings for their next period.

_Oh great, direct all the attention right back on me again, thanks, Darbus_, thought Taylor angrily. She glanced up at Ms. Darbus anyway.

"That was an excellent job acting as Joanne defending her Maureen, nicely done," Ms. Darbus told Taylor with a wink.

"Oh, uh, thanks Ms. Darbus. I-I'm glad you saw what I was going for, hehe," Taylor laughed nervously. _Did Darbus really just save me? She really did, didn't she._

Ms. Darbus had spoken in a voice that rose above the din of the classroom, so it was loud enough for everyone to hear. With a quick look, Taylor noticed that several of her classmates were nodding their heads, apparently buying into what Ms. Darbus just said. Feeling off the hook, she gathered up her things to leave, but couldn't help looking toward Sharpay just one more time to see if her reaction had changed any. Sure enough, Sharpay was still staring right back at her as she was before, with the same look of confusion and surprise. Taylor felt the tips of her ears grow hot once more.

Just then Gabriella grabbed Taylor by the elbow, urging her, "C'mon, let's go, we're gonna be late." Taylor stole her eyes away from Sharpay's and walked side by side with Gabriella to their next class.

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All morning, anywhere the eight leads went, every eye in the vicinity followed. The four basketball boys were approached by numerous different cheerleaders wanting to compliment various aspects of their appearances, from Troy's and Chad's hair to Jason's scarf to Zeke's snappy attire. The boys always politely smiled back, and Zeke, feeling more confident than ever before with his sharp dress wear, actually flirted with a few of them. By the time lunch period rolled around, the entire school had already adjusted to having 'Bohemians' walking around their school.

Gabriella and Taylor were at Taylor's locker to drop off her books when Troy and Chad arrived from behind them.

"Hey boys," greeted Gabriella, looking only at Troy, as usual.

"Hey," returned Troy with a million watt smile.

"Ready to head to lunch?" queried a famished Chad.

"Oh, actually I still have to go to my locker first," replied a book-laden Gabriella. "Meet you there?"

"I'll go with you," jumped in Troy a little too quickly.

Taylor rose from her knees and smirked. "Well go right ahead then, Chad and I will catch up with you in a bit," she egged on.

Both Troy and Gabriella's cheeks grew a little pink, but together they walked off to Gabriella's locker, Troy reaching out to carry Gabriella's books for her.

"So," started Chad, leaning against the next locker while waiting for Taylor to get her books for her class after lunch, "How long do you think it'll be before they finally get together?"

Peering around the side of her open locker door to Chad on her right, Taylor raised one eyebrow at him and replied, "Oh please, like I'm even going to try to guess that one. They should have been together months ago but they're both so stupid when it comes to each other."

"You're definitely right on that one," agreed Chad.

Taylor closed her locker door with her books neatly tucked under her left arm. Turning to face him with her right hand on her hip, she joked, "Are your braids too tight? You should know by now that I'm always right."

As Chad held his hands up in defeat, Taylor felt another arm loop into hers from behind and lock elbows. A jolt ran through her entire body at the contact, and the distinctive clicking of the heels on the tiled floor was a dead give away as to who had just latched onto her arm.

"Walk with me, we have to talk," hissed Sharpay as she dragged Taylor away from Chad, leaving her own brother in the dust.

Watching the two girls walk away, Ryan began to converse with Chad, who was still leaning against the locker but was also watching Sharpay pull Taylor down the hall. "So, yeah, I'm supposed to stay here-"

"-What was that all about?" Chad interrupted.

"Well I thought I sounded like I was about to explain that until you cut me off," Ryan sniffed.

Chad leaned his head against the lockers again and muttered, "Go on then, the sooner you finish, the sooner I eat."

"Anyway," continued Ryan, "I'm supposed to stay here and talk to you while Sharpay talks to Taylor because Sharpay thinks that she and Taylor should start talking more and getting along because they have a bunch of scenes together, although I don't really think they should get along all that much because Maureen and Joanne fight a lot in the musical so if Sharpay and Taylor are always arguing they'll be more like Maureen and Joanne," Ryan rambled, paused, and kept his train of thought going aloud. "But now that I think about it, they are supposed to be wildly in love with each other so if Sharpay and Taylor don't get along then they're gonna have a harder time pretending to be in love on stage and that will ruin the entire musical, so I guess they should start getting along and- Chad?"

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed Chad had closed his eyes while he was leaning on the locker. He reached out and poked his shoulder repeating, "Chad? What are you doing?"

Chad opened his eyes with a wicked grin and replied, "Put me to sleep, Evil Angel."

Ryan then realized that he had indeed been rambling, but then the rest of the statement hit him. Pursing his lips, he demanded, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Laughing, Chad conceded, "Well look at you! You're dressed in all white, but your eyes are all dark and smoky and... evil. You look like an evil angel, or at least Angel's alter ego or something."

"And this is coming from a guy who is one hard hat short of looking like a member of the Village People?" Ryan shot back, poking the poofy orange vest.

"Ha, ha," Chad said sarcastically. Shaking his head as if clearing his thoughts, he asked, "Wait, why are you standing here talking to me again? I should be happily frolicking in the land of Triple-Decker Club Sandwich by now."

"Oh, right, I'm supposed to be telling you that you and I should start getting along better for the sake of the musical. Sharpay's idea," Ryan remembered.

"Yeah, okay, agreed, whatever you say, Evans. My stomach is late for a lunch date," Chad replied, as he turned to walk away. After five steps, he looked back behind him to Ryan, who was still standing in the same place. "You coming or what? If you want to 'get along' you might as well sit with me at lunch."

"Didn't realize I was your lunch date," Ryan joked with a smirk as he walked forward to join Chad, who rolled his eyes, and the pair strolled off to the cafeteria side by side in silence.

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Meanwhile, while Ryan and a confused Chad were left in the dust watching, Sharpay dragged Taylor towards the music room.

"What are you doing?" demanded Taylor in a whisper. Sharpay ignored her until she got into the music room and locked the door behind them.

Walking them to the middle of the classroom where no one could see or hear them, Sharpay repeated, "I told you, we have to talk."

"Which means you had to drag me all the way to the music room? And lock the door?" asked Taylor, putting her books down on the desk, slightly exasperated.

"Hey, I have an image to keep, I can't have people hearing me like this," Sharpay supplied.

"Hearing you like what?" questioned a still bewildered Taylor.

"Look," Sharpay started, her tone growing a bit softer, "I mean, you stuck up for me, like really stuck up for me, in homeroom today and you didn't have to. I don't know why you did, but... thank you."

Taylor felt the all too familiar sensation of her ears burning and fumbled for the words with which to reply. "Yeah, umm, I don't know, I mean, you're welcome, I guess." Cheeks now growing hotter, she continued, though she wasn't sure why. "The words just came out or something. They were in my head and next thing I knew everyone was staring at me, and I'm like, 'great, of all ways to phrase it' and everything, it was just..." Taylor trailed off, unable to complete the sentence because she didn't know what she was saying anymore, but she did know that by this point her entire body was on fire again.

Sharpay smirked and ran her hand through her dark hair, tousling it a bit, adding, "I do look hot though, don't I?"

Taylor was thankful that her skin color was dark enough to hide even the most intense blush, which was exactly what she was experiencing at the moment. She half opened her mouth, wanting to reply with something but finding nothing.

Sharpay smiled, stepped closer to Taylor, and playfully jibed, "Don't you want your girl hot?" She grinned, proud of herself that she was able to effectively use a Maureen quote in regular conversation.

Taylor finally broke down and grinned back, laughing, and gave Sharpay a jovial shove on the shoulder. They both giggled a little bit, and when their laughter died down, Sharpay got a little more serious again.

"We still need to talk though," Sharpay stated.

"What about this time?" asked Taylor.

Sharpay took a deep breath and began, "You and I are definitely very different people; I think we can both agree to that." Taylor nodded in concurrence as Sharpay went on, "And we don't really know each other all that well either. I'm just the Drama Queen to you and you're just the Brainy Girl to me. We're from two completely different universes. The theatre is my life, it's my thing. I need it to be perfect. It's a challenge in general, but... _this_ musical, and _our_ characters, they're in love, and we're..." Sharpay faded off.

"We have to start getting along," finished Taylor.

Sharpay nodded, relieved because she was not sure how she was going to phrase it herself without offending or scaring the other girl.

"Well this is a start," noted Taylor, "I mean, we're having civil conversation, heck, we were laughing a minute ago."

"Yeah, it is a start," agreed Sharpay. "But we need to keep working on it, this communicating and getting to know each other better."

"Maybe sometime next week we can take turns rehearsing at each other's houses. That should help us understand one another better," suggested Taylor earnestly.

"That's a good idea, but I think we're gonna need more than that, too. I'll think of something," Sharpay added.

"Well why don't you and Ryan join us at lunch today? And have Kelsi come down too, I'm sure everyone will want to talk to her about rehearsing," Taylor offered.

Sharpay bit her lip and frowned slightly, thinking.

"Oh, come on, Sharpay! It's not that big a bruise to your ego to eat on the lower floor of the cafeteria! You drag me in here all gung-ho about 'getting to know each other' and now you're gonna worry about reputation?" Taylor spat out incredulously, a slight fire building in her eyes.

"My reputation is all I have!" Sharpay fired back, starting to look dangerous.

"Good thing Maureen and Joanne fight a lot, too," muttered Taylor under her breath.

"What was that?" demanded Sharpay, leaning in, her tone acidic.

Taylor threw her hands up, defeated, repeating, "All I said was 'good thing Maureen and Joanne fight a lot, too,' it's nothing you don't already know." Softening her tone considerably, she reached her hand out and made contact with Sharpay's elbow and said, "Look, I know your reputation is a big thing for you, and I'll respect that, but you have to show me some respect too. Do you honestly think you're going to lose status sitting at the same table as Troy Bolton?" Taylor followed her question with a gentle smile and looked Sharpay in the eye with reassurance.

Sharpay loosened up and sighed, "I guess you're right. I'm... sorry. I'll come eat with you guys."

With a smile half triumphant, half genuine, Taylor looped her arm with Sharpay and locked elbows, tucked her books under her other arm, and chided, "Good! Then allow me to unceremoniously drag you to the cafeteria like you dragged me here."

Sharpay actually laughed out loud when Taylor tugged hard on her arm and dragged her a few steps before slowing down and walking at a normal pace, arms still linked.

As Sharpay went to open the door, she hesitated, looked Taylor square in the eye and warned, "If you tell anyone about my soft side, I will hunt you down."

Taylor, still feeling comical, grinned devilishly and quipped, "Is that a threat or a promise? You look so hot when you're angry, Honeybear."

"Oh, shut up," laughed Sharpay, giving a giggling Taylor a shove. Opening the door and walking out ahead of Taylor, Sharpay added, "Hurry up, if you're going to make me eat at your table I want to get there in time to grab a seat that doesn't rock."

Taylor shook her head and laughed internally as Sharpay click-clacked her way down the hall while she followed a half-step behind in the wake, like Ryan usually would.

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A/N pt. 2: Okay, this is big. I have a little dealy for you readers, the prize for which will be **exclusive knowledge of a couple future plot bunnies** for this story. **Here's the sitch:** There is a line in this chapter that is actually a song lyric. It is my favorite song at the moment and it is amazing, so I used a lyric from it. **Here's the deal: **If you send me a pm with the song lyric, the song name, and the artist (all 3 or no deal!), then I will pm you back with a couple of definite plot bunnies for future chapters.

**DO NOT** put the answer in a review because everyone can see it and cheat. If that happens, the deal is completely off for everyone. Leave a review anyway, cuz you know I love/need the feedback, but just don't put your answer in there :oP Everyone got the deal? Oh, and if you can't send a pm, click on my email in my author profile and send the answer in an email. The deal only lasts until Chapter 12 is posted, so get crackin'! **And here's a hint:** the lyric is not spoken by a girl. Good luck!


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N (it's long, but necessary, so bear with it):** It is my senior year in college, and my life is not my own. I have literally zero free time, so further chapter publications will NOT be frequent by any means. Unfortunately, I'll be lucky if I can update monthly. I swear I'm trying my best though. Initially, as in before school hit me, I was holding back on publishing this chapter to give everyone ample time to come up with the hidden song lyric, and I must say I was pleasantly impressed with the number of you that did. After the 2 plot bunnies I gave out are actually written, I will then reveal the pennames of those of you that answered correctly. This way, you won't be harassed by anyone else for the information, and it also stays relatively secretive like I want it to be. Now, to give both proper credit to the artist and to reveal the answer, the hidden song lyric was "Put me to sleep, Evil Angel," from the song "Evil Angel" by Breaking Benjamin. It's off their new album _Phobia_ which debuted at Number 2 on the Billboard charts, so you should all go out and buy it because it is simply amazing. Would I steer you wrong?

Following along with the whole proper credit idea, I realized I never properly credited all the songs from RENT that I used in my story. Since I would hate for ffnet to delete my fic for using those song lyrics, I would like to say that all lyrics from the musical RENT are the property of the late and great Jonathan Larson. I like to believe that he is smiling down upon my little story, pleased that his message of tolerance and activism is being spread to the future of our world. Let's hope ffnet stands for that too and leaves my story well alone.

As for more shameless promotion, I demand that everyone watch _Dancing With the Stars_ on ABC this season (starts September 12th!) and call in and go online every dance episode to **vote for** **HSM's very own** **Monique Coleman**, aka our beloved **Taylor McKessie**. Spread the word to everyone you know to watch the show and to vote for Monique, and let's prove that HSM fans are more powerful than anyone could have ever expected! Besides, she's dancing with Louis van Amstel, and he's just adorable.

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 12

"_Bohemia, Bohemia_," sang Zeke with a grin as he approached the final empty seat to the right of Jason at his unusually crowded usual lunch table. To Jason's left was Kelsi, who had sat down next to Sharpay out of familiarity and since then was blushing uncontrollably upon realizing she was sitting next to Jason. Sharpay was next to Taylor, who was next to Gabriella, who was a little too close to Troy, who was next to Chad, who was next to Ryan, who was next to the formerly unoccupied seat now inhabited by Zeke.

Everyone was smiling and laughing, when Ryan's face turned a little more serious. Slapping his hands down firmly on the table he leaned in and loudly whispered, "Oh my gosh. We all look like we're in the 'La Vie Boheme' scene right now."

"Hmm, maybe that's why Zeke sang 'Bohemia Bohemia'?" quipped Chad, as everyone else chuckled at Ryan's apparent slowness.

"Of course... I knew that," sniffed Ryan in an attempt to cover himself as everyone else shook their heads and resumed eating, except for Chad who took the opportunity to get in one last jab.

"Or you knew your stockings must be on too tight," he muttered in a voice so quiet that only Ryan could hear him. Or so he thought.

As Ryan turned toward Chad, mouth agape, Sharpay, with her ever keen sense of hearing hissed from across the table, "Cut it out, Chad! Ryan, you were supposed to talk to him about getting along!"

"I did!" exclaimed Ryan, defensively.

"Hey, what'd Chad do?" spoke up Taylor in annoyance.

"Didn't you hear what he just said to Ryan?" snapped Sharpay.

"About Zeke singing? Yeah, it was funny, you were laughing too, so what's your problem now?" Taylor said, starting on the offensive.

"Not that, what he said after that," replied Sharpay, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't hear anything," shrugged Taylor honestly.

"Me either," agreed Zeke, who was also thoroughly confused as to what was going on.

"Well he said something that was completely uncalled for, and I heard it," stated Sharpay, turning her nose up slightly.

"Can we PLEASE just eat in peace?" blurted out an exasperated Kelsi. Everyone turned to look at her. If a spoken word from Kelsi was rare, then an outburst was one step away from non-existant.

"Hey now, no need to shout," said Troy with a grin. He and Gabriella had been completely oblivious to anything but their conversation with each other up until the outburst, so he really had no idea as to what was going on.

Casting a sideways glance and a slight smile at Kelsi, Jason piped up, "Well, I, for one, agree with her. Let's have a nice peaceful lunch instead of constantly bickering."

Everyone just nodded and focused their attentions back on the meals before them, until Gabriella spoke up, "Hey you know how Zeke was singing from 'La Vie Boheme' before?"

Jason and Kelsi groaned in unison, Taylor slapped her own forehead, Sharpay and Ryan rolled their eyes, Zeke laughed and shook his head, and Gabriella, Troy, and Chad looked utterly confused at the others' reactions.

"Umm, okay... anyways, let me finish," continued Gabriella. "What if during lunchtime on opening day we all sat together all dressed up like this again and performed 'La Vie Boheme A' to promote the show?"

"Actually," Sharpay started with a wide, friendly smile, "that sounds like an amazing idea, Gabriella. Let's do it!"

Taylor turned slightly and smiled appreciatively at Sharpay for making this genuine attempt at getting along with her best friend Gabriella, despite the baggage of the months past. This look went unnoticed by all but Ryan, who stored the interesting occurrence in his brain for later use.

From this point on, the entire rest of the day went without a hitch.

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Friday was like any other ordinary day at East High, but with a few minor Bohemian tweaks. Troy had traded the plaid pants for a pair of faded blue jeans, but decided to keep his newfound trend of vintage rock t-shirts alive with a dark blue one sporting The Ramones. He also returned his hair to its hot, shaggy self, but the fake earrings remained to give him an edgier vibe. Also restoring his hair to his trademark was Chad, who was only too happy to remove the braids from his hair. He happened to like his orange vest, however, so he wore it again, this time over a forest green t-shirt touting the tag line "I'm Not Listening" in bold white letters. Jason ditched the scarf, but found that he felt more intelligent when wearing the glasses. The camcorder was also still attached to his palm, since so many priceless moments had been captured the day before. Zeke, realizing the attention his snappy attire gave him with the ladies yesterday, wore a sky blue button-down shirt, collar popped of course, with a pair of charcoal slacks. Ryan boasted a stockingless outfit reminiscent of the previous day, except this time it was the very lightest of blues, so light that unless one looked closely, it would appear white. He nixed the eye shadow, but the black eyeliner remained, which surprisingly added a nice touch.

As for the girls, Sharpay's hair was as brunette as ever, and she was still looking as hot as ever. She once again strayed from her usual pastels and pinks for dark, bold Maureen colors. Today's outfit consisted of deep metallic blue pleather pants, as she decided she looked sizzling in pleather, and a black tank top with matching metallic blue rhinestones stating 'DIVA.' Gabriella stuck with a bold color pattern as well, opting for dark blue boot cut jeans and a turquoise tank top. To add a touch of Mimi, she accessorized with a leopard print choker and matching earrings. Then there was Taylor, who looked like her usual self because, well, Joanne was basically her usual bookish self.

The entire group sat together at lunch again, chatting excitedly almost as if they had always been friends. Then Chad would tease Ryan, who would be defended by Sharpay, who would be attacked by Taylor, who eventually would end up playfully hitting Sharpay and laughing at the whole thing after Sharpay pretended to get offended. Jason and Kelsi enjoyed the show, while Troy and Gabriella were off in their own little world together again.

About halfway through the lunch period, Zeke finally came strolling over with his lunch, as he had been talking to the cheerleaders again with his newfound confidence. As he was putting down his tray, he looked up, and subsequently dropped his tray the final few inches, along with his jaw.

"WHAT are you doing?" he demanded, staring square at Troy and Gabriella. Everyone at the table turned as Troy and Gabriella looked up, slightly startled. Gabriella's left hand was underneath Troy's right hand, holding it, while her own right hand was hovering over his. That's when everyone else noticed what was in her right hand, and they too dropped their jaws in unison.

Gabriella replied nonchalantly, "I'm painting his nails black. It's very punk rocker, you know."

Troy gave a goofy lopsided grin in response.

Everyone but Troy and Gabriella shook their heads, knowing he was completely love struck, and went back to finishing their lunches.

Eventually, the lunch dismissal bell rang, and the gang scurried away from the table off to their next classes. They moved together in one large Bohemian mass, parting the other students in the hallway to their sides. As the rest of the group turned the corner, Ryan quickly snatched up Sharpay's wrist and kept her walking straight down the hallway.

"Ugh, Ryan, what are you doing?" Sharpay whined, taking her wrist back but continuing to walk with him. "You know our next class is the other way."

"I felt like taking the long way," Ryan retorted.

"Spill," demanded Sharpay.

"Okay, fine, you got me. I wanted to talk to you about something," Ryan conceded. After pursing his lips in response to Sharpay's I-already-knew-that eye roll, he continued, "What's up with you and Taylor?"

"What do you mean what's up with me and Taylor?" Sharpay queried.

"Taylor and I," corrected Ryan quickly. Sharpay shot him quick daggers with her eyes, signaling to him to get back on topic. For as dimwitted as Ryan often seemed, he had strange quirks, like snappy comebacks and a habit of correcting grammar. "Sorry," he added. "What I meant was you two just seem to be acting so... so..."

"Friendly?" chimed in Sharpay. "Friendly as in she and I agreed to get along just like you and Chad were supposed to have agreed to get along? I don't see what the issue is here, Ryan."

"It's just... oh, never mind," Ryan gave up.

"Oh no you don't, you know there is no never minding me. Spit it out," ordered Sharpay.

"Okay, okay. It's just... I've seen the way she looks at you," Ryan said, eyes looking anywhere but at Sharpay.

Sharpay stopped on a dime, hands on her hips, head cocked slightly to the side. "And just how does she look at me, Ryan?"

"I don't know!" cried Ryan, exasperated. "It's just different than she used to, that's all."

"Could this possibly go back to the whole we're supposed to be getting along thing? Like maybe, just maybe, she is looking at me like a friend for once instead of the enemy?" Sharpay offered, getting fed up herself.

Shrugging, Ryan gave up. "I guess."

"Come on, we have to move or we're gonna be late for class," barked Sharpay, spinning pointedly on her heel and marching down the hall with Ryan in tow. However, Ryan's observation about Taylor was stuck in the back of her mind.

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The rest of the day plodded along as plain as usual, the dismissal bell ending the painstaking wait for the weekend. Jason Cross was waiting outside on the front stairs, when his cell phone rang. His mother was on the other end, and she was running late for picking him up. This was beneficial to Jason anyways, as he realized he left his packet of lines and songs in his locker, so he headed back inside to retrieve them. On his way back, strolling past the music room, he heard a familiar song playing on the piano. Peering in, he noticed this familiar song was accompanied by a familiar face. Figuring he had time before his notoriously tardy mother arrived, he decided to enter the room.

"You playing 'Halloween' or 'Goodbye Love'?" asked Jason over the notes flowing from the piano.

Kelsi jumped and stopped playing immediately. "A-actually, I forgot that 'Goodbye Love' had a similar arrangement," she replied quietly, blushing. "I was practicing 'Halloween'."

Jason strode over to where she was sitting and leaned up against the piano slightly. "Well since you were playing it anyway, would you mind if I practiced 'Halloween' right now? I'm waiting for my mom to get here, so I don't really have anything else to do," he suggested.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Kelsi agreed with a shy smile. She closed her eyes and began to play again. Jason smiled, and watched the girl play right up until he had to look at his sheet to start singing the lyrics.

"_How did we get here?  
How the hell--Pan left  
Close on the steeple of the church  
How did I get here, how the hell?  
Christmas... Christmas Eve, last year  
How could a night so frozen be so scalding hot  
How can a morning this mild be so raw  
Why are entire years strewn on the cutting room floor of memory  
When single frames from one magic night forever flicker in close up  
On the 3-D Imax of my mind  
That's poetic--that's pathetic  
Why did Mimi knock on Roger's door?  
And Collins choose that phone booth back where Angel set up his drums?  
Why did Maureen's equipment break down?  
Why am I the witness  
And when I capture it on film  
Will it mean that it's the end  
And I'm alone"_

As Jason sang the last word, he looked up from his paper at Kelsi, whose eyes were still closed, playing the piano intently. For a moment he considered the irony that he indeed was not alone in this room when a shrill beep echoed through the room.

Kelsi's eyes jolted open and looked up at Jason, who was silencing his phone. His eyes locked onto hers as he said with an almost disappointed smile, "My mom's here, I gotta go. Thanks for playing for me."

Kelsi returned a small smile and nodded.

"Bye, Kelsi," he said, as he turned to head out the door.

"Goodbye," she replied, nearly in a whisper, and then allowed her fingers to feverishly play over the keys in that same familiar manner.

Jason grinned to himself as he exited the room, thoroughly impressed with Kelsi's relentless practicing of the piano. All of a sudden, the seemingly familiar melody shifted gears. His paused outside the door, knowing she couldn't see him, but he could definitely hear her. Something inside of him flickered as he took note that she was singing softly to the other song:

"_Goodbyyyye, love, goodbye love, came to say, goodbye, love, goodbye..."_

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A/N pt. 2: Thank you all so much for bearing with me in my ridiculously busy state of being. If you could let me know what you thought of this chapter, that'd be super, as I haven't written in almost a month and I'm afraid I might be a bit rusty. :oP


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: **So to say this semester has been busy would be a complete understatement. It would probably take an entire chapter to describe just the misfortunes that I've had since posting the last chapter, not limited to but including my old laptop's hard drive completely frying. By some miracle, all of my documents were able to be recovered, so the story was not lost, and most definitely must go on now that I have my new laptop. Again, still do not expect another update any sooner than a month from this one… I sooo cannot wait for winter break. Anyway, here is the result of me procrastinating over my Thanksgiving break. It's a rather long chapter, but I thought all you loyal readers deserved at least that for being so patient.

**If you would like to see fan-art inspired by this story, go to the profile of XxIcePrincessxX (if you can't find her check the reviews for this chapter) and click at the link on the bottom… it is amazing! (Thanks!)**

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 13

Ms. Darbus watched the final seconds tick away on her wristwatch. "Nine o'clock is officially upon us! Let our first Saturday practice session begin!"

Her enthusiasm was greeted with a few sleepy yawns.

"Come, come, everyone get up, the theatre is calling you! Now, unless I am working on a scene specifically with you, I expect that you will all be working on the props and scenery. To start off, I need Mark, Roger, Collins, Benny, Joanne, and that includes understudies for all, up here on the stage. We will be working on our blocking of the opening sequence," directed Ms. Darbus. "That means let's move now, we've only got 5 hours and 59 minutes left of our Saturday practice!"

Gabriella, Sharpay, and Ryan made their ways to where the backdrop was laid out to be painted as Troy, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, and Jason climbed the stairs to the stage.

"Ugh, the only downside to Maureen is that she's hardly in the First Act at all," grumbled Sharpay as she reluctantly seized hold of a paintbrush.

"Well on the bright side, you do make quite the impact when you arrive," suggested Ryan as he made a neat stroke on the extraordinarily large canvas.

"Yeah," agreed Gabriella, who had accompanied the Evans twins for lack of anything better to do than paint. "I would have to say that for only being in half of the musical, Maureen is the character that everyone remembers the best."

"Oh I am sure you don't have to worry about anyone forgetting you grinding across the stage, Gabriella," chuckled Sharpay as she pretended to paint on the canvas.

Blushing, Gabriella replied quietly, "I worry that my stage fright is going to kick in and ruin the whole thing." Perking up a little, she added with a hint of laughter, "And of course that my mom will ground me for the dance moves I have to perform."

"Hey now," countered Ryan, "at least your mom doesn't have to see you perform dressed like a girl."

Both Gabriella and Sharpay turned their heads towards Ryan, giving him the 'do-you-realize-what-you-just-said' look.

Ryan's mouth formed a little 'o' as he recognized the inaccuracy of his last statement, but argued, "Oh come on, you know what I meant!"

"Haha, I know, it was just funny how you said it though," smiled Gabriella, reaching her brush down to coat it in more paint.

The rest of the day continued in the same relatively uneventful fashion, as various cast members were called to the stage to rehearse and block while the rest worked on the backdrop and assembling other props. Three o'clock struck, and everyone was finally free to have a real weekend.

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Monday morning came much sooner than everyone would have liked, and with its arrival was a week of during and after school pair and group rehearsals. Ms. Darbus had her own unique way of doing everything, and decided once again instead of having mandatory practices for the leads, they would practice on their own time under the condition that it was with another lead. She felt that the members of the ensemble needed much more work to get into performance shape than did her leads, so she and Kelsi would be working with that group every day immediately after school. The first opportunity for the leads to practice was free period on Monday.

Taylor McKessie dumped off her books in her locker at the start of free period, trying in vain to remember where Jason's locker was located. As she allowed her head to fall into her locker door in frustration, she heard a voice behind her.

"Do that a few more times and I might have a shot at beating you on a test for once."

Taylor half-smiled, only because the voice teasing her was the very person she was looking for. "Very funny, Jason. Actually, I was about to go looking for you, but I guess you found me first. Can I assume that you're thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Only if you're thinking that Mark and Joanne definitely need to learn how to tango, then yes, we are definitely on the same wavelength," replied Jason.

"Never thought that day would come," muttered Taylor under her breath.

"What's that?" queried Jason.

"That would be a yes."

"Oh. Well now that we know what we want to do, how are we going to go about doing it?" Jason inquired.

"Hmm," thought Taylor for a moment. "I've got it. What two people would know more about anything having to do with song and dance than anyone else in this school?"

"Ahh, right you are," grinned Jason. "And I believe you've got a bit of an in, with her being your girlfriend and all?"

Taylor's stomach flip-flopped at Jason's question. She knew his implication was that of the Maureen/Joanne relationship, but she couldn't help the heat that rushed to her cheeks thanks to the outburst in homeroom the previous week. Playing it off, she smiled and laughed, "But of course, I'll send the Honeybear a text right now. I'm thinking we should meet in the music room?"

"Agreed."

"And the message is sent. I guess we might as well start walking over there now and wait for the Evans," decided Taylor, and with that they started off down the hall.

As they entered the music room, they found Ryan Evans already leaning against the piano looking at his watch while Kelsi sat thumbing through some of the sheet music.

"Hey, Ryan," greeted Taylor, "I didn't think you'd be here already, I only just texted Sharpay a minute ago."

"I'm supposed to be meeting Chad here… of course he's five minutes late already… but wait, what are you talking about?"

"She's talking about you and me teaching her and Spaz-boy over here how to tango," announced Sharpay as she strolled into the room.

"Oh. And why didn't you tell me about this?" Ryan inquired.

"Because I knew you were in here already, so I figured why risk chipping a nail by sending you the text?" Sharpay stated factually.

Ryan, speechless, simply shrugged in response.

Smirking, Sharpay continued, "I have a feeling you two," nodding toward Jason and Taylor, "are going to need a lot of work with the tango, so we better get started right now. Taylor, you will partner first with Ryan so he can lead you."

"Which leaves me with you," Jason concluded with a grin across his face as he inched closer to Sharpay, who stretched out her arm and pushed Jason a full length away.

"Don't get any ideas, the only reason you're even this close to me right now is because I could never stand by watching the song in my namesake go down the toilet because you can't dance," retorted Sharpay.

"Ouch, I resent that," joked Jason.

"You're going to resent ever asking me to help if you don't shut your mouth and start learning," countered Sharpay.

Ryan leaned toward Taylor's ear, whispering, "You think they're done yet?"

"Who knows," Taylor replied, "but we might as well get started. I want to get as much done during free period as possible."

"Okay then, place your left hand on top of my shoulder with your arm up and elbow bent," coached Ryan, "Good. Now let me grab your right hand with my left and hold it out like this. This is the hold for the tango. Now arch your back a bit, holding your chin up slightly."

"This is weird," observed Taylor.

"It's weird?" asked Ryan.

"Very weird," added Sharpay.

"Fucking weird," quipped Jason.

Sharpay had walked over and began her attempt to fix Taylor's posture from its current awkward position when she made her comment, so Jason couldn't resist completing the exchange. He was greeted with four pairs of rolling eyes, all exhibiting various degrees of amusement toward his 'Tango Maureen' pun, though they did have to give him credit for being so quick to realize the opportunity was there.

"There, now you are in the proper hold with the proper posture for the tango," Sharpay said as she made the final adjustment to Taylor's head, gently tilting her chin upward ever-so-slightly. Removing her lingering fingertips, she whipped around with intensity. "As for you Jason, you have a much easier position to hold, so hopefully that won't prove too difficult for you to figure out."

"Like this?" Jason questioned as he pulled Sharpay into a close tango hold.

Shoving him back a half foot, Sharpay replied, "More like this. Hey Kelsi, could you play and repeat a simple measure of 'Tango Maureen' so we can start with the footwork?"

"Yeah, Sharpay, I can do that," Kelsi affirmed, though her voice quivered a little at the end. It was difficult for her to watch Jason, with whom she still maintained a relentless crush, continually try to flirt with Sharpay, who was obviously not interested. Sighing, she straightened herself and poised her fingers, tapping out the first four notes of the tango.

After about 10 minutes of practicing the same basic tango step over and over again, at least Taylor had committed the sequence to memory. Jason, on the other hand, though improving slightly, was still stepping on Sharpay's toes approximately every fifth count.

Jason stepped to move forward as Sharpay stepped to move back, but Jason had led with the wrong foot, stomping it down square in the middle of Sharpay's shoe and sending her off balance.

As she began to fall, she started clutching desperately for anything to latch onto in an attempt to prevent her fall. The only thing in that direction within an arm's length was the back of an oblivious Taylor's shirt. Taylor had been retreating and Ryan advancing, so the sudden yank from a teetering Sharpay sent Taylor toppling backwards, landing awkwardly sideways, simultaneously both on top of and under Sharpay. As the two girls scrambled to get back on their feet, they immediately banged heads, sending both of them back into a prone position. While they were laying there in a heap groaning and holding their heads, Ryan, Jason, and Kelsi didn't know whether to laugh or make sure the girls were okay. That question was quickly answered by a new voice.

"Do even I want to know what's going on here? Wait, actually, I definitely want to know," laughed Chad, staring at the entanglement on the floor in front of him in sheer amusement. This statement prompted laughter from the other three in the room, as it was clear from the death looks shot toward Chad by both Taylor and Sharpay that there was nothing wrong with either girl, save for a mildly throbbing head and a bruised ego.

Ryan came over to help his sister up, while Chad did the same for Taylor. As Taylor rose to her feet, she continued to give Chad an icy glare.

"Wow, looks like spending all that time with the Ice Princess is turning you into one too," Chad jokingly observed.

Ryan, sensing the hurt that flashed through his twin's body at the words 'Ice Princess,' decided to speak up on her behalf. "I really think you should back off insulting my sister."

Chad's eyebrows arched in surprise. "You mean calling her the Ice Princess? I always thought it was more of a fact than anything else."

"No, a fact would be that your hair looks fresh out of the electrical socket," retorted Ryan.

"Yeah well at least I don't look like I just came from the girls' bathroom. Nice eyeliner. Did you get advice on the proper shade of lipstick for your skin tone while you were in there too?" Chad shot back.

Stepping up closer so his face was a mere six inches from Chad's, Ryan countered, "I seem to remember someone thinking I was pretty hot up there on the stage with that lipstick on."

"I can't help that you look like a girl," Chad said, pushing Ryan away from him. "I can't help that you really ARE Angel."

Ryan's eyes flickered, and in a low voice he determined, "I'd rather be like Angel than be anything like you." With that, he stormed out of the music room, checking his shoulder into Chad on his way.

Chad, wearing a solemn face that attempted to mask both his guilt and hurt, lifted his head up to gauge the reaction of the others in the room. Taylor was wide-eyed standing in front of Sharpay, almost as if protecting her. Sharpay's eyes looked heavy peering over the top of Taylor's shoulder, right hand clutching Taylor's right arm in distress. She wanted to break down, but could never do so in public unless it was clear that she was acting, which was not the case here. Kelsi sat stone still on her piano bench, a bit taken aback at the whole altercation. Jason was leaning up against the piano, arms folded with a stern look and a slight frown. He was the only one to speak.

"You better fix this."

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Later that night, Chad threw his head back on his pillow in frustration. Closing his eyes, he kept rerunning the events of the music room over in his head. Jason's voice repeating 'you better fix this' echoed continuously. Rolling over, he let out a yell of frustration into his pillow. He knew what he had to do, but was having trouble actually picking up the phone and doing it. Gritting his teeth and grabbing his cell phone, he took a deep breath and pressed '5' on his speed-dial. _Crazy that Ryan Evans of all people is the fifth person in my speed-dial_, thought Chad as the phone rang. Troy was first, followed by Taylor from when they had been dating, then Zeke and Jason.

Ryan stared at his ringing cell phone, knowing from his caller I.D. that it was Chad calling. He decided to let it go to voicemail, since he knew he would blow up before Chad had a chance to apologize. The familiar voicemail beep sounded, and he accessed it immediately to listen to Chad's message.

"_Hey, Ryan, it's Chad… wow, uh, I'm not really sure where to start. I guess I can start with the first 'I'm sorry,' which is for offending your sister for all these years. I didn't know it hurt her so much, and I swear I'm not some heartless jackass, I promise I'll stop. Promise. I'll tell her that too, once I can look her in the eye again… ahhh, gosh I feel like such crap inside right now… Look, Ryan, I'm really, really sorry for stepping over the line today, making fun of your make-up and everything. I know you're doing it for the show, and really I should be giving you props for it. And saying you were Angel, that was the stupidest insult I could have ever made, 'cause Angel was a loving, a-and, caring human being, and you were right, you SHOULD rather be like Angel than be like me. I'm just… gah! I-I don't even know anymore. I've got a lot of reflection to do. So… again, I'm really sorry for the hurt I caused today… I'm working on fixing myself, promise. See you tomorrow I guess. Bye."_

Saving the message, Ryan stood up from his bed and walked down the hall to Sharpay's room. He gave the door a few firm taps, knowing he'd get no response because Sharpay was in the midst of her private breakdown that she had needed to let out since free period. He slowly opened the door, finding his sister laying on her side with her back turned toward him, not letting him see the mascara smeared down her cheeks. He understood her insecurities and was not offended in the least that she appeared to ignore his presence. He moved closer to her, pressed the button to access the voicemail, and just held it to her ear.

After the message played, she uttered a soft "Thanks, Ryan," and with that he gave her hair a comforting stroke and started out the room. Just as he was about to enter the hallway, she called out.

"Ryan? Could you hand me my cell phone?"

Ryan spun around and seized the device from her night table, which was way out of Sharpay's reach since she was on the other side of her king-sized bed. He placed it on her side, then turned to leave again.

"I'm going to text Chad and tell him to come rehearse here after school tomorrow," she stated.

"Okay," replied Ryan, knowing intuitively that Sharpay had accepted Chad's indirect apology. He also knew that by inviting Chad over, she was not only giving him the opportunity to apologize to her in person, but also allowing Chad and him to start repairing the damage to the Collins/Angel dynamic, the glue of the show.

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Troy Bolton strode down the hallway with a swagger. It was Tuesday, and Tuesday was promising to be a very good day for him. He had spent over an hour on the phone talking and laughing with Gabriella the night before, and they agreed they were going to meet today during both free period and lunch to work on their interaction in 'Light My Candle' and 'Another Day.' When the bell finally rang to signal the start of free period, Troy nearly knocked his desk over because he sprung out of his seat so quickly. With a giant, genuine grin plastered across his face, he hastily made his way through the hallway to his rendezvous point, the music room. As he rounded the corner, he saw a flock of dark hair entering the music room, and widening his grin, he broke into a jog to get there faster.

"Hey!" he greeted, as he opened the door.

"Hi, Troy," responded… Taylor, who was standing next to Sharpay… and Jason… and Ryan… and Kelsi.

The emergence of her voice brought Troy back to reality, and his grin toned down a few watts as he realized that the dark hair he saw entering the room belonged to the brunette Sharpay and not to-

"Gabriella!" Taylor exclaimed, as she ran over to the door and gave her best friend a hug. "Why does it feel like I haven't seen you in years?"

"I know, right?" Gabriella agreed. "What are all of you doing in here?"

"Sharpay and Ryan are teaching Jason and me how to tango," Taylor informed.

"Yeah, Taylor is actually doing a decent job, but Jason needs a little work," added Ryan.

"A 'little' work?" Sharpay said incredulously. "Am I the only one remembering the disaster that was yesterday's practice?"

A brief, uneasy look, passed between Ryan, Taylor, Jason, and Kelsi, but it went unnoticed by Troy and Gabriella. The four of them knew Sharpay was referring specifically to Jason constantly stepping on her feet, but the end of the practice session was still haunting their minds.

Jason spoke up, "Well if I'm that horrible I guess we better get to work!"

"I have got to watch this," grinned Gabriella, taking a seat at an empty desk.

Troy, who had been frozen like a statue since he entered the room, finally moved. "But, hey, Gabriella, didn't you want to practice our scenes?" he asked, trying to hide how anxious he was to spend time with her away from everyone else.

"Oh, don't worry about it," replied Gabriella sweetly, "We can work on it during lunch. Watching these guys dance will definitely be worth putting it off."

Troy effectively managed to hide his disappointment and sat down next to Gabriella, insincerely agreeing, "Yeah, definitely." Gabriella smiled, reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, then retracted it so she could fold her hands under her chin and rest her head to watch the dancing.

Troy was extremely relieved when it was finally lunchtime, since this meant he would finally have the whole period with just Gabriella. At least he hoped. He paced around the music room in anticipation until Gabriella finally arrived.

"Hey, Troy, I got caught up with Taylor in the hallway. We haven't gotten to talk in forever."

"That's cool," Troy stated with a wide smile. "I'm just glad we finally get to spend some time together."

"I know! We've hardly gotten to practice our scenes at all! We have so much work to do. Wanna start with 'Light My Candle'?" Gabriella offered.

"Oh! Umm, yeah, sure, let's start with that!" Troy agreed with a slight stammer. He was still surprised that she hadn't taken his comment the way he meant it. _After all this does she really still see me as just a friend?_ he thought.

They spent the period going over their movements starting with the beginning of the song and coordinating everything with the lyrics. They finally reached the last few lines of the song, where Roger and Mimi start to dance. Troy held her close as they swayed back and forth, looking into each other's eyes while she sang her final line. She sensuously slipped her left hand around to Troy's back pocket and hooked her thumb inside of it. After she finished holding her last note, it was like time froze, and they froze along with it.

Troy broke the silence with a barely audible whisper complimenting, "So beautiful."

Gabriella blushed, but instead of shying away, she went up on the tips of her toes and gave Troy a soft, careful kiss on his cheek. She pulled back and looked into his eyes once more.

The moment was broken by the sound of the door opening, and the two of them flew apart, startled.

"Oh hey guys!" greeted Kelsi. "I was wondering why you weren't at lunch. Were you practicing in here?"

Troy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and answered, "Yep, uh, yeah, we were practicing through lunch."

"Well you should have told me! I definitely would have played for you. I'd play for you right now but the period is going to end in a few seconds and my next class is all the way across the school," Kelsi replied, gathering a couple of her songbooks.

"Oh that's okay, maybe next time," suggested Gabriella. No sooner had the words escaped her mouth, the bell rang signaling the end of the period.

"See ya!" called Kelsi as she scurried from the room.

Gabriella looked sorrowfully at Troy as she remembered, "My class is on the opposite end of the building too. I-I better go so I'm not late."

"Yeah," said a spaced-out Troy in monotone. He was still standing there immobile after Gabriella left the room, cheek still tingling from where Gabriella's lips had made contact. Only when the class of rowdy sophomores arriving for their chorus lesson started filing into the room did Troy realize that he had to go to his next class like everyone else, and he slowly and wistfully made his way down the hall.

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The dismissal bell for the day rang, and Chad felt a jolt rise through his stomach. He was going to be spending the rest of the afternoon at the Evans household, and frankly, he was nervous. He had not spoken to either twin at lunch time, but that was okay because Zeke and Jason were keeping everyone so entertained with stories that no one noticed the lack of other conversation or the lack of Gabriella and Troy. This ride and this evening alone with the Evans was another story. He was unsure of their mode of transportation as he exited the school building, but found Sharpay sitting on one of the benches. Figuring he didn't have any other options, he sat down on the bench alongside her.

"So," Chad started.

"So," repeated Sharpay.

"How 'bout that weather?" Chad tried.

"Actually I hear we're supposed to have really bad storm on Friday," replied Sharpay nonchalantly.

"Hmm, that's rare… yes it is…" Chad stalled. "Look Sharpay, I'm really sorry about offending you yesterday. And not just yesterday, all the times I've offended you before, which probably goes back years, and, and, I'm sorry for not giving you a chance in the past and-"

"-Chad," Sharpay interrupted, "Relax. Apology accepted. Ryan actually played me your voicemail, that's why I invited you over our house to practice with him."

"Well I'm glad you invited me over, especially because I wanted to apologize to you in person. I thought I at least owed you that," said Chad. "And speaking of Ryan, where is he?"

"He got a 10 minute cell-phone detention from Darbus in homeroom, remember? I was the one that texted him too… oops," laughed Sharpay.

"Eh, whatcha gonna do, right?" Chad chuckled. "Darbus must have let him out early, here he comes."

"Sharpay, I cannot believe you texted me in Darbus' class, of all classes, you know, the one where we sit right next to each other?" complained Ryan.

"Ryan, you know I never would have been able to say that out loud without her hearing."

"Without who hearing?" questioned Chad.

"Darbus' lipstick totally clashed with her shoes today and Sharpay had to tell me the hilariousness via text message instead of whispering it in my ear," explained Ryan with an amused grin and a far away look. Feeling the two pair of eyes looking at him quizzically, Ryan looked around quickly, realizing their ride had arrived. "Oh would you look at that, our ride is here, let's go!"

The three chatted the whole way home, apparently forgetting about the events that had transpired the day before. When they arrived at the house, Sharpay retreated to her room, and Chad and Ryan went to practice in his.

As they entered his room, Ryan observed, "So I see you apologized to my sister?"

"Yeah, I did, and I wanted to apologize to you in person too so-"

"-Hold up," Ryan interjected. "Obviously you and I have some issues to work out."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Well, I have an idea of how we can resolve this without using any words," hinted Ryan.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Dance-off," stated Ryan with a wicked grin.

A matching grin spread across Chad's face. "Brilliant," he agreed. "Bring it on."

Ryan went over to his obviously expensive sound system and popped in a cd full of hip-hop and club beats. Ryan gestured for Chad to go first. After Chad pulled off a few slick moves, he pointed to Ryan, signaling his turn to counter. The dancing conversation continued with varying intensity for the next half hour until Chad purposely did some spastic dance moves that made Ryan laugh so hard he couldn't do anything but collapse onto his bed in a heap of laughter. His bed, like Sharpay's, was king-sized, so when Chad crumpled with exhaustion onto the other side of the bed, there was still a good 3 feet between them. Both of them laid there for a few minutes, taking the opportunity to catch their breath. Chad propped himself up onto his elbow, wiping the sweat from his brow with his other hand. Ryan, feeling the shift, did the same and faced Chad.

Raising an eyebrow and smirking, Chad asked, "'You Okay Honey'?"

"'You Okay Honey,' indeed," Ryan agreed, smirking right back.

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**A/N pt. 2:** Whew! That was a long one! Thank you so much again to everyone that reads this story for being so patient. I'm trying to progress the story a bit quicker by including multiple days in each chapter, so hopefully this super-sized chapter was worth the wait. Since this is my first attempt at writing for fun in over 2 months, if you could do me a huge favor and let me know what you thought, that'd be super! Love you all!


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Yeah, I know I suck for not getting this chapter up here sooner. I write the most when I'm procrastinating, and since there hasn't been anything for me to procrastinate from doing, I haven't been writing. I was stuck on this chapter, though, and I know what I want to do beyond it, but since this was a transitional kind of chapter, I was having a lot of trouble coming up with something to write. Thankfully, I came up with something in the shower (my ultimate thinking place) a few nights ago, so you all finally get a chapter, albeit a much shorter one than the previous, but a chapter nonetheless!

Oh and I am extremely honored to be nominated in the HSM Fanfiction Awards. It means a lot that you all enjoy the story enough to nominate it in several categories, and I sincerely thank you. (Voting ends February 28th.)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 14

Ever since the unbearably close encounter with Troy on Tuesday, Gabriella Montez devoted every spare moment to thinking of a way to tell him how she felt. She wanted to tell him not only how she felt about him now, but also explain how she felt about him at the cast party. Wednesday passed and Thursday passed, but the moment never seemed right. That was until Friday at lunchtime.

Zeke had arrived late to the lunch table, as he had been doing recently. Everyone else had been seated and eating for at least 10 minutes, which meant that Ryan and Chad had already gone through one round of banter, complete with input from Sharpay and Taylor. The table grew quiet as Zeke went to place his tray down because they noticed he had a huge grin on his face.

"What?" he asked, grin never wavering even though his whole table was staring at him.

Just then, his cell phone started to ring. The amount of time it took him to actually put his tray down and dig into his pocket to open the phone and read the new text message in his inbox was just long enough.

"Dude," stated Chad.

Confused, Zeke again replied, "What?"

Clearing his throat, Jason explained, "Your ring tone is 'Seasons of Love'?"

Breaking into an even bigger grin than before, he countered, "And why not?" He looked over his shoulder, his eyes noticeably locking with a pretty blonde cheerleader who was smiling shyly in his direction, clutching her own cell phone. Everyone at the table raised their eyebrows in anticipation. Turning back to them, Zeke simply started singing.

"_525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so deeear,"_

Unexpectedly, Troy joined in and harmonized with Zeke,

"_525,600 minutes, how do you measure, measure a year?"_

Immediately Gabriella jumped in to form a three-part harmony with the boys,

"_In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cuuups of coffee,"_

Taylor, Chad, and Jason quickly followed suit, and the six friends continued,

"_In inches, in miles, in laughter, in striiiiife,  
__In 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the liiiife?"_

While the others were singing, the Evans twins looked at each other. Ryan shrugged, Sharpay nodded, and both broke into harmony with the rest at,

"_How about… loooooooooove?  
__How about… loooooooooove?  
__How about… looooooooooooove?  
__Measure in loooooove,  
__Seasons of looo(loooooooove)ove  
__Seasons of looo(loooooooove)ove"_

Around the second line of the chorus, Kelsi boldly stood up and started clapping a beat to the song. The rest of the table followed her lead, and by the end of the first chorus, nearly the entire cafeteria on both levels was clapping along and watching in awe of the beautiful harmony.

Gabriella would be singing the solo in the show, so it rested on her shoulders to continue the performance, which she did without pause.

"_525,600 minutes,  
__525,000 journeys to plaaaan,  
__525,600 minutes,  
__Hoooow do you measure the life of a woman or a maaaan?"_

Troy followed,

"_In truths that she learned,  
__Or in times that he cried,  
__In bridges he burned,  
__Or the way that she diiiiiiiiiied"_

At this point, the entire cafeteria was way into the performance, and other members of the ensemble that had been scattered around the cafeteria had made their ways over to the performance to lend their additional voices.

"_It's time now, to sing out,  
__Though the story never ends,  
__Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends!_

_Remember the loooooooooove,  
__(Ooooh you got to you got to remember the loooove)  
__Remember the loooooooooove,  
__(You know that love is a gift from up abooove)  
__Remember the looooooooooooove,  
__(Shaaare love, giiive love, eh-eh-ehhhh, love)  
__Remember the loooooooooove  
__(Measure, measure your life in la-oooooooooooh)  
__Seasons of looo(loooooooove)ove,  
__Seasons of looo(loooooooove)ove,  
__(Measure your life, measure your life in loooove)."_

The cafeteria erupted into thunderous applause after Gabriella finished holding her final solo note. Amidst the roar, Troy slipped his arm around Gabriella's waist to pull her closer and whisper in her ear, "That was amazing."

Gabriella smiled up at him and blushed, when Sharpay's voice broke through the din and complimented (in that roundabout way that only Sharpay could), "You have got to teach me how to hit that high note."

Gabriella shifted her eyes from Troy to Sharpay, then back to Troy again. She giggled at the praise, then, leaning up to whisper in Troy's ear, decided, "I need to talk to you after school today… it's important."

Reading the earnest look in Gabriella's eyes, Troy nodded and whispered back, "Okay."

The pair noticed that the rest of the cafeteria had gone back to its business, and even their castmates had taken their seats again to resume eating. They, too, nonchalantly sat back down.

Suddenly, the roar of thunder returned. Many students across the cafeteria jumped, and a few shrieks were heard.

"I guess that big storm finally got here," commented Chad, noticing the rain pattering down on the cafeteria windows.

"You and Taylor are still coming over for dinner and rehearsal though, right?" inquired Sharpay.

"Yeah, I'll be there," affirmed Chad.

"Me too," Taylor chimed in.

"Good thing, cuz our chef has been preparing a six-person meal since this morning," noted Ryan.

"Well we can't have perfectly good food go to waste now can we!" exclaimed Chad. "On second thought, if Taylor doesn't come I can eat hers… you sure you still want to come?"

"Hello, lobster and prime rib? Not a chance in the world I would miss that one," Taylor objected, which gave everyone a good laugh.

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Gabriella dug at her nailbeds as if they were the most interesting discovery of the century. The dismissal bell had just rung a minute ago, and she was nervous. Leaning up against her locker, staring intently at her hands, she rehearsed over and over in her head what she was going to say to Troy. She couldn't back out now; she had told him she needed to talk to him, and he would know something was up if she didn't say anything of great importance. Gabriella was so lost in her own thoughts that the tap on her shoulder sent her jumping nearly a foot in the air.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" asked a concerned Troy in a gentle tone.

Slightly embarrassed, Gabriella responded, "I-I'm fine, I'm sorry. I knew you were coming, I had just spaced out."

"Heh," Troy chuckled. "As long as you're okay. So what is this important thing you wanted to talk to me about?"

Gabriella glanced around at the masses of students flowing through the hall. "Somewhere less crowded?"

"Agreed."

The two made their ways to Troy's favorite spot (thanks to the Science Club, of course), and sat down side-by-side at the top of the staircase, where they wouldn't get wet. Gabriella looked out to the dark purple-grey clouds of the storm, trying to work up the nerve to tell Troy how she felt. A bolt of lightning snaked horizontally across the sky, illuminating the mountain peak below it, and the sight was truly wondrous.

"Oh my," breathed Gabriella. "That was beautif-AHH!" The thunderclap had arrived, startling Gabriella and making her scream.

Troy looked down at her fingers digging into his bicep, where she had latched on when she jumped at the sound of the thunder. Chuckling, he noted, "Beautifah, huh? I've gotta say I've never heard that one before."

"Oh, stop," Gabriella playfully complained as she released her grip to lightly hit him in the arm.

With a shy, genuine smile, he continued boldly, "I don't know about beautifah, but I know something that's beautiful."

Gabriella turned her head, looking up into blue eyes that were softly and vulnerably fixated on her own warm brown ones. "What's that?" she inquired in a gentle voice.

Clearing his throat first, he clarified, "Well, it's a someone, actually."

She could feel her heartbeat racing, but her gaze never faltered as she corrected herself, "Who's that?"

Troy tenderly lifted his right hand to her face, cupped her cheek, and stroked it once with his thumb as he answered in a voice barely above a whisper, "You."

Gabriella was sure Troy could hear her heart pounding because it was pumping so hard, but she had finally worked up enough nerve. She began to voluntarily draw her face closer to his when Troy's instincts kicked in, using his right hand to tilt her chin upward toward his own lowering head.

Their eyes closed, and in an instant, he delicately captured her upper lip between his own two, and an eager Gabriella responded just as affectionately. Time seemed to stand still for the two of them, in that moment of perfect, unadulterated bliss. Five seconds and five lifetimes were one and the same. So much love radiated from that one simple, innocent kiss, that a second one was foregone in favor of opening their eyes. Each could see clearly in the other that today was the first day of the rest of their lives, measured in love.

Foreheads still pressed together, Troy spoke first, "I've been wanting to do that since the cast party, you know."

"I know," she admitted, and added, "Me too."

Drawing his head back a few inches to better read her facial expression, he arched his eyebrows and replied in surprise, "Seriously?"

Sitting up straighter, she responded firmly, "Seriously."

Troy opened his mouth to comment, but before he could get anything out, Gabriella put her index finger to his lips, stopping him in his tracks.

"Let me explain," she gently demanded, and he complied by softly kissing her finger upon his lips. She smiled shyly and withdrew her finger, clasping her hands together on her lap. She drew a deep breath and finally began. "I followed my head at the cast party, Troy, and not my heart. My heart was screaming, begging me to kiss you, because it knew I wanted to so much. But my head, my supposedly smart brain told me not to. It said it was too soon, that I wasn't ready. My heart was ready then, Troy, and it has been ready ever since. It just took this long to convince my brain that it was ready too."

Troy smiled a wide, genuine smile and put his arm around her shoulders. "That's my freaky math girl with her freaky math brain."

Gabriella laughed, and in turn, so did Troy. Another roll of thunder echoed off the mountains, drawing them out of their reverie. Gabriella looked at her watch, her eyes growing wide. "Oh no! All the buses have been gone for at least 10 minutes already! And it's storming out! I can't walk home in this! Ugh, what am I going to do? My mom's still at work, and-"

"Gabriella," Troy said, interrupting her panicking. "Relax, I can give you a ride home. I always ride home with my dad on Fridays after he finishes up his paperwork. Usually I shoot around waiting for him, and then we go somewhere all father/son-like after we leave the school." She looked like she was about to protest, but he continued quickly, "Don't worry, we weren't going anywhere but straight home with it storming out, so you're not interfering with anything."

"Okay," she agreed, "You can take me home then."

Troy stood up, and offered her his hand, a helpful gesture to which she gladly obliged. Fingers intertwined, they descended the stairs and made their ways to Coach Bolton's office. He had just finished up his work, so the three of them ran umbrella-less through the rain to the vehicle, soaking wet and laughing as they climbed inside. Troy and Gabriella sat together in the back seat, Troy holding her close to keep her warm. Coach Bolton was no dummy, but pretended not to notice while he smiled internally. When they arrived at Gabriella's house, Troy hopped out of the car with Gabriella to walk her to the shelter of her doorstep.

"You didn't have to get wet again, you know," Gabriella stated, reaching up to brush a dripping strand of hair out of Troy's eyes.

"Yeah, I know, but I figured I was already soaking, so why not?" he countered. Grabbing her by the hand and pulling a shrieking Gabriella back into the rain, he added with a coy smirk, "Besides, I always have wanted to kiss in the rain."

Lacing her arms around his neck, she smirked back at him, "Hmm, isn't that funny," leaning in and adding in a loud whisper, "So have I."

From the car, Coach Bolton had noticed his son's antics of pulling Gabriella back into the rain. Deciding the happy pair deserved their privacy, he turned his head the opposite way, watching the raindrops trace paths down the window.

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The storm's intensity had increased dramatically as it approached dinnertime at the Evans household. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were seated at the head and foot of the table, respectively, while Sharpay and Ryan sat across from each other, as they normally would. The dinner guests, Taylor and Chad, sat next to Sharpay and Ryan like they would during lunchtime at school. As the salad was being brought out, Taylor's cell phone began to ring.

"Oh my goodness, I am sooo sorry," Taylor apologized, silencing her ringer while she tried to scramble to her feet to leave the room.

Mr. Evans held his hand in the air to signal to her to stop, explaining, "No need to leave, we all take phone calls during dinner. Please, feel free to sit back down."

Ryan agreed from across the table, "Seriously, we usually spend more time on the phone during dinner than eating," which earned dirty looks from his sister and mother.

By this time, Taylor had answered the call. "Hi, Mom… no, we have power here… six inches?! Okay I'll ask."

Everyone looked at Taylor expectantly, so she asked, "Would I be able to spend the night here? Power is out on at least our whole block, there's flash-flooding everywhere, and we've got six inches of water in our basement already. My parents said there's no way they can get me."

Mrs. Evans replied, "Well there is no way that anyone should be out in those conditions right now, so yes, of course, tell your mother you may most certainly stay the night."

"Thank you so much," said Taylor, and returned the phone to her ear to tell her mother.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Evans turned to Chad and added, "You should probably call your parents and tell them you're staying, too."

"Thanks, I was just about to ask, but you beat me to it. Taylor and I live in the same neighborhood, so my parents probably also have flooding and no power," Chad explained as he removed his own phone from his pocket and began to dial his mother.

"You wanna complain about cell phones at dinner now?" Sharpay asked of Ryan with a smirk.

"Eat your arugula, kids," Mr. Evans scolded in a comically weary tone, which instantly stopped the impending argument and drew laughter from everyone at the table.

Taylor, now feeling at home, quipped, "Whew! I was afraid it was going to be a long night from here!" Everyone laughed again.

Oh, little did they know.

**A/N pt. 2:** Okay, so I left a semi-but-not-really cliffy, which hopefully is leaving you all anxious to read more. I'm back at school now (last semester of college!), which means I'll have plenty of things to procrastinate from, so keep reminding me that you're reading the story and patiently, patiently waiting for the next chapter… enough reminders will hopefully get my butt in gear to write the next chapter. As usual, let me know what you think!


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N pt. 1: **I apologize for this being such a short chapter compared to recent ones, but I HAD to get it up here. More on this in the author's note at the end of the chapter (aka, read the chapter first!)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 15

Following dessert at the Evans household, Sharpay, Ryan, Taylor, and Chad took advantage of the opportunity to practice longer into the evening. All four changed into what would serve as their sleepwear for the evening. While Sharpay adorned stylish pink silk pajama pants and a pink-and-white polka dotted matching tank top, Taylor opted for a pair of Sharpay's flare-legged lavender sweatpants and a plain white fitted tee. That particular outfit happened to be one of several assemblages Sharpay used as gym class attire rather than sleepwear, but Taylor felt much more at ease wearing cotton over silk. Apparently the Evans had an affinity for silk, because Chad had the same dilemma as Taylor did, and solved it in a similar manner. Chad countered Ryan's baby blue pinstriped silk pajamas with a pair of dark blue track pants and a white undershirt.

Once everyone was comfortable, they decided to rehearse the show from beginning to end. However, they only practiced scenes that involved two or more of them. Whoever wasn't involved took on the roles that needed filling. Around 11:30 p.m. they had finally reached "Finale B," which would be their last song for the evening.

"Well, Ryan, I guess since you're still dead you can be Mimi… and Roger… and Mark… and you can still be a boy when we split into parts at the end," quipped Chad as he ran down the list in his head of who was missing from the scene.

"Wonderful," a tired Ryan dryly remarked. "Can we just get this over with already?"

Eyes focused on Ryan, Sharpay leaned sideways to whisper loudly in Taylor's ear, "Ryan gets cranky when he's tired."

"I heard that," replied Ryan.

"I kno-ow," Sharpay retorted in a sing-song voice.

"Okay, okay, let's get this started," appealed Taylor. Then, with a devilish grin she added, "You're up, Mimi."

The two girls held back a fit of giggles and Chad fake-coughed a few times as Ryan glared at them all. Being overtired must have taken its toll, though, and annoyance proved to be too taxing an emotion for Ryan, so he started the scene in a falsetto Mimi voice.  
"I jumped over the moon!"

While the other three laughed, he lowered his voice to an uncharacteristically deep one to reply back as Roger.  
"What?"

High-pitched again,  
"A leap of moooooooooo-"

Taylor:  
"She's back!"

Ryan-Mimi:  
"I was in a tunnel, heading for this warm white light…"

Sharpay:  
"Oh my God!"

Ryan-Mimi:  
"And I swear Angel was there- and she looked good! And then she said, 'Turn around, girlfriend, and listen to that boy's song'…"

Chad:  
"She's drenched."

Sharpay:  
"Her fever's breaking!"

Ryan-Mark/Roger/Mimi&Roger:  
"_There is no future, there is no past,"  
_"_Thank God this moment's not the last."  
_"_There's only us, there's only this,  
__Forget regret, or life is yours to miss,"_

All:  
"_No other road, no other way,  
__No day but today."_

Girls(Boys):  
"_I can't control (Will I lose my dignity?)  
__My destiny (Will someone care?)  
__I trust my soul (Will I wake tomorrow)  
__My only goal is just to be (From this nightmare?)_

_Without youuu (There's only now)  
__The hand grooopes (There's only here)  
__The ear heeears (Give into love)  
__The pulse beeeats (Or liiive in fear)  
__Life goes oooon (No other path)  
__But I'm goooone cuz (No other way)  
__I diiiiie without youuuuu (No dayyy but todayyyyyyy)  
__I diiiiie without youuuuu (No dayyy but todayyyyyyy)  
__I diiiiie without youuuuu (No dayyy but todayyyyyyy)  
__I diiiiie without youuuuu (No dayyy but todayyyyyyy)  
__I diiiiie without youuuuu (No dayyy but todayyyyyyy)  
__I diiiiie without youuuuu (No dayyy but todayyyyyyy)_

All:  
"_No day but todayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"_

After they finished holding the last note, Ryan concluded, "Aaand, scene. I'm going to bed, Chad, you're going to bed because you're sleeping on the airbed on my floor, and girls, good night."

With that he trudged out of the den and up the stairs to his room as Chad scrambled to his feet to follow, bidding the girls a quick "g'night!" as he rushed away.

Taylor checked her wristwatch and found that it was 11:37 p.m. Turning to Sharpay next to her, she asked, "Does your brother always go to bed this early on a Friday night?"

"I swear the boy gets more beauty sleep than I do," laughed Sharpay. Rising, she offered her hand to help Taylor to her feet, a gesture to which Taylor obliged.

"So?" inquired Taylor.

"Well I'm not tired, and I'm guessing you're not either, but we do have to get up kinda early tomorrow for Saturday practice," stated Sharpay.

"Which means what?"

"Which means… well, if you want we can go up to my room and watch a movie till we fall asleep… ooo I know we can watch RENT so when we sleep we can absorb it!" Sharpay suggested excitedly.

Taylor chuckled, "You don't really believe in that stuff, do you?"

"Oh sure," replied Sharpay, "and here I thought we were making such good progress as friends and you go get all science-geek on me and shoot me down."

Taylor laughed out loud as Sharpay put her hands on her hips and jutted her jaw out in a pretend pout. Giving Sharpay a gentle nudge to the shoulder, Taylor played along and pleaded, "Oh, c'mon, Honeybear, you know I was just messing with you."

This cracked Sharpay's façade and she broke into laughter, which in turn caused Taylor to laugh.

"Well, let's go then, I don't want to challenge the science of RENT-by-osmosis," Taylor giggled.

"Haha, shut up," returned Sharpay, as she grabbed Taylor's hand and led her upstairs.

When they got to Sharpay's room, Taylor stared in awe of the abundance of both expensive items and the color pink in the room. While scanning the room, she noticed a problem. "Umm, Sharpay? Where's the tv?"

"Just watch," Sharpay replied.

There was a remote next to the bed, but no television to be found. Sharpay grabbed the remote and pressed the red button in the top right corner.

"Whoa," breathed Taylor.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Sharpay offered as a widescreen plasma emerged from the ceiling and lowered itself into position hovering over the bed.

"I'll say," agreed Taylor.

Sharpay popped the movie into the dvd player and climbed to the center of the bed, leaning back on the fluffy pink pillows resting against the headboard. Patting the space immediately to her left, she invited Taylor to join her. "With the way the screen is, you see the movie best from dead-center," she explained.

Taylor crawled onto the bed, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Sharpay. Both girls pulled the covers up to their chests as they slouched down and got comfortable. After they were situated and before they could start the movie, Taylor spoke. "Hey, Sharpay?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me stay over. I was worried something horrible would happen if my mom would have come to pick me up," Taylor said softly.

"It's not a problem at all; it's dangerous out there right now," Sharpay responded as she reached across with her right hand and placed it atop Taylor's own right hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"This is really nice of you," Taylor added.

The right corner of Sharpay's lips curled up in a sincere half-smile as she replied, "I'm not the 'Ice Princess' all of the time."

Returning the hand-squeeze, Taylor acknowledged, "I'm glad I get to see this side of you."

The two girls locked eyes as Sharpay countered, "I'm glad I have someone to show it to."

Sharpay adjusted her hand so their fingers were laced together, and tender smiles crept to each of their faces. Giving Taylor's hand a tight squeeze this time, Sharpay inquired, "Ready to osmosize?"

Shaking her head with playful incredulity at Sharpay's made-up word, Taylor agreed, "Of course."

About a third of the way through the movie, Sharpay fell asleep, and Taylor soon followed suit. Sharpay had sleep-timered the tv to coincide with the end of the movie so she didn't have to wake up to turn it off, but the sound of silence woke her anyway. Then she felt a strange sensation… a tickling in her ear. _Maybe it wasn't the silence then_, she thought. Without moving her head, she glanced to her left and realized that in her slumber, Taylor's head had fallen sideways onto Sharpay's shoulder, and a few strands of hair had descended in such a way that they brushed up against Sharpay's ear.

With her right hand still intertwined with Taylor's own, Sharpay slowly reached up with her left to tuck away the stray locks, careful not to disturb the sleeping girl whose peaceful features were so close. Straining to see what she was doing, Sharpay inadvertently turned her head to the left. The subtle movement was enough to cause Taylor to stir.

Sharpay froze for a short moment, her left hand in mid-tuck, and then continued to gently place the hair behind Taylor's ear. Taylor's eyes blinked open at the resumed motion, and Sharpay froze again, her fingers resting behind Taylor's ear, having just finished replacing the lock of hair. Taylor adjusted her head to look at Sharpay, and this action coupled with Sharpay's frozen state resulted in Sharpay's hand cupping the side of Taylor's face.

A brief, but intense, moment passed as each girl was fixated on the other's eyes, the whites of which were the only things they could see while they were adjusting to the dark. Though there were merely centimeters between them to begin with, the girls had subconsciously moved their faces toward one another, perhaps because it was dark and they struggled to improve their vision, or perhaps because of another more suppressed reason. Either way, when their foreheads brushed against each other, each girl had the same reaction.

Simultaneously, their eyes fluttered closed and Sharpay's mouth drew in Taylor's upper lip as Taylor's seized Sharpay's lower. They responded to each other like it was the most natural thing in the world, breaking the kiss and engaging in another with ease. One tongue flicked against the other a few times, never exploring, just gently grazing. After a few more innocent kisses, Taylor raised her free hand and stroked Sharpay's jaw line. Lips tightly locked, they drew out the final kiss a little longer, then pulled back and opened their eyes. Taylor smiled at Sharpay, who immediately smiled back.

Giving Sharpay a quick kiss on the nose, Taylor whispered, "Good night," and rolled over to get some sleep.

"Night," Sharpay replied almost inaudibly, then scrunched down and drew the covers up to her chin. Neither could see it, but each went to sleep with a contented smile on her face.

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**A/N pt. 2:** Hopefully, this is the point where you are forgiving me for posting a short chapter after a long wait. I was originally going to combine this one with the ideas for the next one and make a mega-chapter, but it's late (when I'm posting this) and I'm tired and I don't know when I'll have time to write again… hopefully soon. Most importantly, I wanted to get some SharpayxTaylor in before the voting deadline for the HSM Fanfiction Awards passes (February 28th). Since I'm nominated in the Best Femslash category, I wanted to get actual kissing in here, and lucky for me this is where the timeline for that event in my story fell. I'm also nominated in the Best Slash category, but unfortunately, the RyanxChad is still a few chapters away (but feel free to vote for me there anyway, haha). Finally, I am also nominated in the Best In-Progress category, and I'd like to reiterate the fact that this story is indeed still in-progress, albeit somewhat slow progress, but in-progress nonetheless! If you haven't voted yet (for me or for anyone), head over to the ffnet HSM forums and find the one titled "HSM Fanfiction Awards Take 2" and click around and go from there. I truly do appreciate all of you that read this story, so as always, let me know what you think!


	17. Chapter 16

**Brief A/N:** Long-ish chapter (for me), mostly substance. Longer author's note to follow.

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.

Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

Chapter 16

Sharpay's eyes snapped open. There was something warm in her bed. And it was making noise. It was softly… snoring? After a second of processing, all the events of the night came rushing back to her, and she drew in a sharp breath of remembrance. Although she knew Taylor was sound asleep, she used extreme caution as she gently climbed out of the right side of her bed. Sliding on her pink fuzzy slippers and wrapping her robe around her, she glanced at her clock. It read 7:13 in glaring red digital numbers. Her alarm had been set for 7:30 anyways, so instead of trying to go back to sleep, she decided to go downstairs and get some coffee.

As Sharpay descended the stairs, heavenly aromas filled her nostrils and her stomach growled. Not only was the chef busy in his kitchen preparing a delicious pancake breakfast for the four teens, but Ryan also was awake and working the espresso machine in the kitchenette. Sharpay smiled to herself watching Ryan meticulously produce the perfect shot of espresso while lightly rocking back and forth, tapping his feet to music in his own head. It was his morning ritual; he said it was therapeutic, and it in turn soothed her to watch her brother obtain such intense serenity. Regardless, Sharpay did always count on benefiting from the final product. She lingered in the doorway for a few minutes, unbeknownst to Ryan.

"Ohhhhh, loverrrrr," Ryan softly sang aloud to himself and started humming the rest of the line.

Leaning on the doorframe and grinning, Sharpay announced her presence in the kitchenette by stating, "Thought so."

Ryan jumped slightly and drew a sharp startled breath. He turned around to face Sharpay, calmly sipped his cup of espresso, and scolded, "You know I hate when you mess with me making espresso! And thought what?"

Sharpay replied, "You had another dream about Chad last night didn't you."

Ryan nearly choked on the bitter liquid in his mouth. He swallowed it heavily and then stammered, "H-how did you…?" and trailed off in wonder. Not even a second later, his eyes lit up as he realized how she knew.

A smug look crept upon his face as he asserted, "You knew cuz you had the same one about Taylor."

Sharpay nodded and shrugged, acknowledging, "You've gotta love twin telepathy."

"Yep," Ryan agreed. He took another sip of his espresso and advanced toward his sister. He stared her straight in the eye and declared, "That's why I know there's something else you're not telling me about."

Sharpay blinked, in turn giving herself away.

"I knew it. What happened with you and Taylor last night?" he interrogated.

Snatching the shot out his hand, Sharpay smirked, sipped the beverage, and retorted, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Sharpay revisited the stairwell, the carefully prepared espresso in tow, while Ryan raised an eyebrow of interest and called after her, "No worries, I'll figure it out like I always do!"

"Have fun, it's a good one too!" Sharpay returned.

She realized that she should probably finish the drink before entering her room so as not to wake Taylor. She sat lengthwise across the hallway at the top of the stairwell, taking a few minutes to admire the painting across from her while swallowing small mouthfuls of the hot aromatic beverage.

"That smells awesome."

Sharpay looked up to see a bedraggled Chad. His voice was a bit scratchy, his eyelids a bit heavy, and his hair was more than a bit frizzy.

With a twinkle in her eye, Sharpay hinted, "It would _definitely_ be Ryan's pleasure to make a cup for _you_."

Chad was still extremely groggy and therefore missed the inflection of Sharpay's words, so he merely replied, "Awesome," which was apparently one of the few words he could think of in the morning.

Sharpay was amused as she watched him trudge down the stairs; there was actually something endearing about his partial lack of function in the morning. Smiling, she knew Ryan would be gushing about it later. With that thought, she threw back the last swig of her espresso, rose to her feet, and proceeded down the hall to her bedroom.

Upon entering, she flopped across her bed, grabbed the remote, and turned the tv on to get ready to music videos like she did every morning. That's when the realization hit her: the bed she just flopped across should not have been empty.

As if on cue, the door to her private bathroom opened, and her eyes couldn't help but to fixate on what she saw. With only a towel draped around her body and another wrapped up in her hair, a glistening Taylor emerged through the doorway, the steam from the room billowing out from behind her.

Noticing Sharpay's staring, Taylor reached up with the hand not clutching her body towel and let her hair loose. She shook it, letting the damp curls splay down over her shoulders. Sharpay still had a dumbfounded look upon her face.

Using her free hand, Taylor toweled off her hair as she began to make her way towards Sharpay, explaining, "I woke up when you closed the door when you left, so I figured I had a few minutes to take a nice, hot shower."

Sharpay was still uncharacteristically speechless as her eyes followed Taylor approaching her. Sharpay's heart was racing when Taylor sat down on the bed, still clad only in the towel, and placed her free hand on the other side of Sharpay to brace herself as she leaned over.

Taylor could tell she had Sharpay flustered, so she smirked quickly before leaning in and giving her a full kiss. Teasing as she pulled away only seconds after she initiated the kiss, Taylor playfully nipped a stunned Sharpay's bottom lip, and, with her face still close, whispered, "Hope you didn't mind."

The only thing Sharpay could manage in response was a very breathy, "No."

Just then, Sharpay's alarm clock screeched that it was 7:30, and the noise caused the two girls to spaz ,with Sharpay's reflex including slamming her hand down on the snooze button. They each burst into giggles at the other's reaction, and Taylor quipped, "I guess this means good morning."

Sharpay, finally broken out of her spellbound state, crooked her finger under Taylor's chin and guided it toward her, capturing her lips for a more prolonged kiss. The sensations were arousing; Taylor savored Sharpay's espresso on her tongue as Sharpay could taste the minty clean of Taylor's freshly brushed mouth. Sharpay tangled her fingers in the wet tresses that had been so alluring to her, and Taylor ached inside to return the gesture, but one hand was busy preventing her from exposing herself while the other kept her balanced. Slightly frustrated, Taylor kissed Sharpay with more hunger.

They drew apart at the reminder of the snooze at 7:35, and Sharpay placed a quick peck upon Taylor's lips once more before replying, "G'morning," and then leaned over to shut off the alarm for good. Taylor sat up, still clutching the towel tightly above her chest. Sharpay propped herself up on her elbow, facing Taylor, who looked like she was about to ask a question.

With a goofy grin, Taylor asked sheepishly, "Could I borrow some of your clothes?"

"Don't you think it's a little soon for you to be trying to get in my pants?" Sharpay joked with a playful smirk.

Taylor's face contorted in an adorable fashion as she tried not to laugh while swatting Sharpay on the leg. Recovering, she took the joke and ran with it, replying, "You're right, I should probably wait at least until after our first date." This elicited giggles from Sharpay, and then Taylor continued, "But seriously, I do need to borrow some clothes just until we get to rehearsal. I have my Joanne clothes in my locker, but I need something to wear over there."

Sharpay rose from the bed and strutted to her walk-in closet, gesturing for Taylor to follow her. Taylor obliged.

"Pick whatever you want and get changed while I go check on breakfast," Sharpay offered, and then leaned closer and spoke lowly, "I know you'll look good in my pants."

As she walked away, Sharpay gave a firm yet gentle slap to Taylor's toweled behind, and left the room with a sing-song "See you downstairs!"

Descending upon the kitchenette, Sharpay could hear Ryan and Chad bickering about something. She rounded the corner to find Chad sitting upon the counter by the espresso machine and Ryan perched on one of the barstools. Both boys had shots of espresso in their hands.

"Sharpay!" exclaimed Chad, "Tell your brother that adding a little bit of milk and sugar to your espresso makes it taste so much better!"

"It ruins the integrity of the drink!" Ryan countered.

"And just how can a drink have integrity? Last time I checked, the coffee never said a word to me," Chad questioned.

Sharpay just crossed her arms and watched the verbal volley. Exasperated, Ryan took a deep breath and cried, "It's just a figure of frickin' speech! And it's not coffee, it's espresso!"

"Same difference," grumbled Chad.

"No it's not, you treat them differently! You're not supposed to add anything to espresso!" insisted Ryan with a raised voice.

"What, so people can't like their coffee black then? You have to add stuff to it?" Chad shot back.

"That's not what I said," Ryan defended.

"Yeah it is, you said only espresso can be black," Chad argued back.

Before either boy could get out another word, Taylor popped into the room, and with a smile, she inquired in a hard street tone, "Why's it always gotta be black?"

A huge grin broke across Chad's face at the ethnic joke, emphasizing his handsome facial structure. He held his creamy espresso up in front of him and concluded, "I guess it's gonna be white for me this time."

Everyone started laughing, though Sharpay and Ryan caught each other's knowing eyes. A look passed between them signaling recognition of Chad's double-entendre; Chad didn't know it, but the Evans twins wanted his statement to extend past coffee into real life.

Just then, the door leading from the kitchenette to the kitchen opened, and, to the delight of the teens, the chef appeared, announcing with a hearty smile, "The pancakes are ready!"

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Ms. Darbus stood atop the stage and gestured widely to the students sitting in the auditorium seats below. "It's a beautiful day for theatre," she swooned. "Let us start off with a rousing number… Everyone involved in the opening and 'Rent' please join me on the stage!"

Most of the cast shuffled their ways to the stage and took their places at Ms. Darbus' command. Glancing around, she mentally took attendance, and she noticed that she was one main character short for the number.

"Has anyone seen Ms. McKessie?" she asked.

Chad answered, "She had to get changed, but I would have thought she'd have been back by now."

"Alright, go look for her, Mr. Danforth. Mr. Bolton, you go with him," Ms. Darbus instructed.

"It'll be faster if we split up," Troy suggested to Chad.

"Got it," he agreed, and the two boys left opposite ends of the auditorium in search of one Taylor McKessie.

Meanwhile, a heated discussion was taking place at the locker of Sharpay Evans. However, it was not heated in the manner that one would normally think.

Hooking her right index finger into the belt loop of the pants Taylor was wearing, Sharpay tugged the girl closer and commented in a husky voice, "Still wearing my pants, I see."

Tracing her own index finger down Sharpay's jawline, Taylor responded, "You were right, I do look good in them."

Sharpay removed her finger from the belt loop to reposition her hand onto Taylor's hip, and with her left hand she pulled her girlfriend even closer by tugging on the tie hanging nonchalantly down her front. Leaning in close, she added, "You look even better with this tie on."

Lifting her other hand to run her fingers through Sharpay's silky smooth locks, Taylor pressed, "How much better?"

"This much," Sharpay stated, and then used Taylor's tie to close the final distance and drew the raven-haired beauty into a searing hot lip-lock.

The smoldering kiss had been heating up for several minutes before it was interrupted by the sound of a third party clearing his throat. The girls froze.

"I'm thinking I probably wasn't supposed to see that," guessed an amused Troy with a lopsided grin.

Realizing that Troy was completely at ease with what the two girls were doing, they drew apart, and each smiled at him sheepishly.

"Well I guess I'm one less person you have to out yourselves to, huh," he figured.

"That is true," agreed Taylor. "By the way, what were you doing in this area of the building?"

Troy replied, "Looking for you, actually. We're gonna start 'Rent' and we can't do it without you."

"Oh, sorry! What time is it?" Taylor inquired.

"9:18," Troy stated after glancing at his wristwatch.

"Guess we got carried away," Sharpay noted with a smirk.

Taylor's eyes nearly fell out of her head as she exclaimed, "Ohmygosh, Darbus probably doesn't even know I'm here! I didn't check in! I'm gonna be in so much trouble! I-I gotta go!"

Taylor dashed down the hall and had almost reached the auditorium before nearly colliding with Gabriella.

"Oh, you're here! Did Troy find you?" asked Gabriella.

"Yeah," replied Taylor, short of breath.

"Where is he?"

"Dunno… down the hall?"

"I'll go find him." With that, Gabriella started heading in Troy's direction.

When Taylor had left, Troy had turned to follow her, but Sharpay had scurried in front of him first.

"Troy, wait," she had started, putting her hand up to his chest briefly to stop him.

"Hey, don't worry, Sharpay, I won't tell anyone. And for what it's worth, you two looked really happy with each other," Troy had affirmed.

At first glancing down, Sharpay then looked back up at Troy and had responded, "That means a lot coming from you, Troy. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"No, I really mean it. Thank you for being okay with us being together, and thank you for keeping it a secret… for now," Sharpay had continued, "We plan on telling everyone, eventually, but we've gotta start with who we trust first. You're actually the first person to find out; Ryan doesn't even know yet."

"Wow, really? It must have been really scary for you two to find me standing there then, huh," Troy had realized.

"You have no idea. If the wrong person saw… my reputation… it's all you've got in high school," Sharpay had said with downcast eyes. "Taylor, too."

Noticing the unsteadiness of Sharpay's voice, Troy had sought to comfort her and pulled her into a reassuring hug. Patting the back of her head, he promised, "Your secret is safe with me for as long as you need me to keep it. You can trust me."

"You are one great guy, Troy Bolton," Sharpay declared tenderly.

It was at that moment that Gabriella rounded the corner and spotted Troy in the tight embrace.

"Troy?" she questioned in a voice slightly above a whisper, her bottom lip quivering involuntarily as tears started to well in her eyes.

Troy's eyes widened as he realized her misinterpretation of the scene before her. "Gabriella! It's not what you think!" he tried to explain, releasing his hold on Sharpay.

Gabriella just shook her head in disbelief and ran off down the hall.

"Gabriella, don't!" Troy called out to her, to no avail.

He looked at Sharpay with his mouth hanging open, speechless.

"She has no idea how much this," Sharpay gestured back and forth between herself and Troy, "would never happen." She offered a gentle smile and added, "You can tell her exactly why what she saw was wrong. I think I can trust her; she's Taylor's best friend, and Taylor was going to tell her today anyway."

Troy smiled weakly, thanked Sharpay, and tore down the hall in nervous pursuit of Gabriella.

While half-running, half-staggering down the hallway, the well of moisture in Gabriella's eyes had spilled over into big splashy tears. She had wiped at the offending drops as she rounded a corner and collided with someone taller than her.

"Sorry," she had sniffled, before looking up to discover it was Zeke she had crashed into. He had been sent out to search for Troy because he was nowhere to be found when Taylor returned.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's the matter?" Zeke had asked with genuine concern, gently rubbing his hands up and down Gabriella's arms to calm her down.

"Troy… he was…" Gabriella had stammered but could not finish before bursting into a fresh wave of tears.

"It's okay… shhh, it's okay. When you're ready, I'm here for you to tell me," Zeke had reassured.

Gabriella looked up at him with watery doe eyes.

"Gabriella! Where are you?"

She immediately recognized Troy's voice, and on angry impulse, she grabbed the sides of Zeke's face and kissed him full on the mouth just as Troy had rounded the corner.

Troy's ears grew hot with rage, and his face soon followed. Without a word, he sprinted back to the auditorium, slamming his palm against the wall and breathing deep to compose himself before entering. _How dare she? Sharpay and I did nothing, and she runs off and sucks face with the first random guy she finds? Who the hell was that guy anyway? And who the hell is she?!_

Back in the hallway, Zeke stood motionless as Gabriella removed her lips from his.

"I…" Gabriella trailed off.

Zeke cleared his throat and began, "Wow, Gabriella, umm, I'm flattered and all, but honestly, I'm interested in somebody else right now."

"I… am… so… sorry," Gabriella apologized, drawing out each word for emphasis. "I wasn't thinking. I heard his voice and I panicked because he upset me, and I guess I did the one thing I knew would hurt him back."

"Apology accepted," Zeke said with understanding.

"And please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not into you as more than a friend, no offense," Gabriella clarified.

"No worries, none taken," Zeke chuckled. "Shall we return to rehearsal?"

"Thanks for the offer, but you go ahead. I need some time to myself."

"Fair enough, I'll see you later then."

Gabriella nodded and gave him a small smile and a wave as he walked off. Suddenly feeling a bout of nausea overcome her, Gabriella darted to the nearest ladies' room. She leaned over the sink, and after a dry heave, burst into sopping wet tears.

Sharpay was on her way back to the auditorium after finishing up at her locker when she heard the sobbing coming from the girls' bathroom. She knew it could only be one person, and it was a person she desperately needed to talk to. She tried to enter quietly, but the door creaked, causing Gabriella to hastily wipe her eyes dry and look up at the intruder.

Realizing that it was Sharpay, Gabriella stated with a renewed confidence, "I have nothing to say to you."

"Which is not entirely unexpected," agreed Sharpay, "but I do have a lot to say to you, and you're going to want to hear this."

Gabriella crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes, and firmly set her jaw, waiting to hear what the Ice Princess could possibly have to say to her after stealing Troy away.

"Nothing was going on with Tro-" Sharpay started.

"Bull. I'm calling bull on that one, you've wanted him since the day I met you," interrupted Gabriella, waving her hands in front of her as if trying to halt an oncoming mugger.

Putting her hands up in slight concession, Sharpay returned, "I can understand how you could have misinterpreted the hug between Troy and I based on that line of thinking."

Gabriella arched an eyebrow.

"Your line of thinking is completely wrong," declared Sharpay.

"It's going to take a lot more than just empty words from you to convince me of that," Gabriella retorted.

"I swear these words aren't empty; I swear I'm telling the truth, but you haven't let me fully explain yet," Sharpay pleaded.

Narrowing her eyes once more, Gabriella demanded, "This better be good."

Sucking in a breath of air and then exhaling it loudly, Sharpay mustered some courage and blurted, "I like girls."

Gabriella's eyes grew wide with surprise at first, then narrowed dangerously, and she started advancing on Sharpay with renewed ferocity. "You think this is funny? I ought to smash your skull through this wall!"

"Gabriella, please! I've never been more serious in my life! Troy caught me kissing another girl and he hugged me so I knew that my secret was safe with him!" Sharpay explained in a panic.

Recognizing the sincerity in her eyes and in the tone of her voice, Gabriella stopped moving forward and her features softened. "You really are dead serious aren't you," she muttered. "This is so… unexpected… I don't even know what to say."

"There is more," mumbled Sharpay, nervously.

Gabriella tried to give an encouraging smile and nodded, saying, "Go on."

Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, Sharpay divulged, "The girl I was kissing wasn't just a girl, she's my girlfriend." Gabriella nodded again, comprehending, when Sharpay spoke again. "And my girlfriend is your best friend."

Gabriella's mouth formed a little 'o' as she absorbed this startling new information. "Y-you and Taylor… are?" she stuttered, a bit in shock.

"Yes, and I care about her deeply." With her chin angled down, Sharpay looked up at Gabriella and admitted, "I've never felt this way about anybody before."

Gabriella, still unable to properly express herself in words, nodded slowly.

Sharpay spoke again, acknowledging, "Taylor was going to tell you after rehearsal today. I know how important it is to her that you know about her and about us. She probably won't be too happy with me for being the one to come out to you, but I also know how head-over-heels you are for Troy and I didn't want you thinking badly of him. He really is a great guy."

Gabriella smiled genuinely for the first time in the conversation and jested, "But so obviously not the one for you."

Sharpay grinned at the joke and replied, "Looks like you're finally getting it now."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to explain yourself at first. I was just so angry that Troy would do that to me… Troy!" she gasped and put a fearful hand over her mouth. "He was trying to tell me, and I wouldn't listen… now we might be done for good."

"What? Why?" asked a concerned Sharpay.

"I made a huge, impulsive mistake," Gabriella confessed, shaking her head in shame. "When I ran away from you guys, I crashed into Zeke, and he tried to make me feel better when I was crying, so when I heard Troy calling to me I wanted to hurt him back, so… I kissed Zeke."

Sharpay inhaled sharply and reached her hand out to clasp Gabriella's shoulder as a sign of friendship and cooperativity.

"Looks like we've got some damage control to do."

**A/N:** Whew! Lots of romance and drama in that one! Hopefully now that you've read the chapter, you are forgiving me (at least a little bit) for taking 4 months to get around to writing it. It will never take me that long to update again, I can promise you that. School is now done for good, so I have a bit more spare time even though my summer has been quite busy so far. My goal is to plot out the storyline for the next chapter and write it sometime in the next 2 weeks… we'll see how that update deadline works out.

In the meantime, while I've got you here reading, I'd like to thank all of you who voted for me in the HSM Fanfiction Awards. I won all three categories this story was nominated in: Best Slash, Best Femslash, and Best In-Progress. You holding me, as an author, in that high of regard means so much. Thank you once again. I'd also like to thank you all for the feedback you have given… as of this chapter publication, this story has reached 400 reviews, which is phenomenal. Heck, if everyone who has TMBOLM on their Favorite Story list reviewed this chapter, I'd be over 500 reviews! That being said, I am hoping that you have a lot to comment about for this chapter… there was a lot going on, so review, review, review and let me know what you're thinking!


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